Brand New Start
by gleefully-finchel
Summary: Sequel to After All and Seniors: Finchel & Klaine arrive in New York City to make a brand new start. Rachel becomes the top student at Brooklyn's Conservatory for music, will she find her dreams and Finn finds himself drawn in a new direction. *completed*
1. Chapter 1

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 1**

**Finn POV**

"I told you he would be good for carrying all the heavy things." Kurt yells to Rachel as he sits with his feet up on the coffee table as I walk into the loft.

"HEY! You know there are things down there that even YOU can carry." I say as I kick his feet down off the table as I pass him. I stop by the kitchen where Rachel is taking things out of boxes and kiss her on the cheek.

"You doing ok baby?" She asks.

"Yeah, we are almost done. Blaine is bringing up the last of the boxes from the moving van." My mom finally got all of our stuff delivered this morning and we have spent the last two hours carrying everything up three flights of stairs to our apartment loft. "It would be done faster if we had someone else helping us." I yell loudly so that Kurt hears me in the other room.

"Remind me again why it was such a great idea to live on the third floor?" I hear Blaine say as he enters the room with two boxes and sets them on the table.

"Because your Uncle already owns this place and it's cheap." Rachel giggles.

"Yeah there is that! But why couldn't I have any other relatives with ground floor places?"

"Because then we wouldn't have this amazing view of the city." Rachel beams looking out onto the street.

"Well when we finally move out of here, you and Kurt can carry it all back down." I say picking the boxes back up and walking it back to the bedroom.

We've been staying at the loft for a week now. It's weird living in the city. I can hear the cars on the street at all hours of the night and Rachel keeps telling me that eventually I'll be able to fall asleep listening to it, but right now I just want to yell out the window and tell them all to just go home and go to bed so that I can sleep.

We haven't done much besides try and make the loft livable. Kurt doesn't move into the dorms for another week so he's been staying here with us. Rachel and I have been spending a lot of time getting used to sharing the same bed. I mean sure it's great to wake up and have sex whenever I want it, but it's really weird having someone always in your bed. Sometimes I forget she's there and I roll over onto her hair or her arm and once or twice when I rolled over and her face was inches from mine I woke up screaming at the top of my lungs. Rachel told me it's a transactional phase or transparent or some kind of phase we are in until we get used to things.

Either way it's still something I can get used to cuz really, do I need to mention the sex part again? Sure it gets awkward when Kurt starts pounding on the wall and yelling about his virginal ears and stuff, but I think the fact that I've walked in on him making out with Blaine on the couch more than once, makes up for it.

School starts next week and we still have to get our books and stuff before class actually begins. I don't know why they make you buy the book up front instead of after you lose them. I guess they figure college kids aren't real responsible since their parents aren't around to keep track of their books anymore. Though my mom would say that doesn't actually matter since I lost books even when I was still at home.

I start unpacking the first box and see that it's full of Rachel's clothes. Crap she has a lot of clothes. I start pulling them out and laying them out on the bed when I notice a book lying between a pair of her skirts. I flip it over and read the cover. 'Rachel Barbara Berry's Diary'. I look out the door to see where Rachel is. I mean I know I shouldn't read it or anything, but dude, it's a diary, it's almost like they would have to take my man card away if I didn't read it.

I flip it open to the first couple of pages. It looks like she started this diary in 9th grade. I read a paragraph a few pages in_. 'Dear Diary, I hate high school. The boys are rude and the girls just don't understand what it means to have talent. And this jerk totally ruined my new training bra when he threw a drink in my face after lunch. Why would anyone waste a perfectly good drink? But the guy didn't appear to be too smart; after all he couldn't even afford a real haircut, choosing instead to only shave off the sides of his head. This guy is obviously an idiot. I think I will avoid him from this point on.'_

I feel both sad that there was a time when Rachel was a target for such bullying but can't help but chuckle at her reference to Puck being an idiot. I flip through a few more pages.

'_Dear Diary, today the most amazing thing happened. There is this guy at my school. Total hottie. He's in my second period English class. He's pretty quiet most of the time. But I passed him in the hall today and he made eye contact which caught me off guard causing me to drop my books and he actually stopped and helped me pick them up. And we both went for the same book and when our hands touched it was like electricity. And then the most amazing thing happened. He smiled at me. It wasn't one of those normal guy smiles either. It was the kind of smile that makes your knees go weak and your heart start to pound. When I thanked him he actually spoke to me. Sure all he said was 'No problem' but it was actual words so that counts. I wanted to talk to him more, but that idiot with the Mohawk came over and started talking to him and then he seemed like he was weirded out by me so I left. Tina told me his name is Finn. Do you think that love at first sight really exists? Because I've already started thinking of names for our children and I don't know if that's strange.'_

"See anything you like in there?" I hear a voice from behind me and I drop the book.

"God you scared me." I yell holding my hand to my chest. "Sorry, I just found it and I only read two pages Rach."

"Finn, it's ok, really. I have nothing to hide from you."

"Did you really start naming our kids after that time in the hall?" She blushes and walks over and sits on the bed.

"Do you even remember that day?"

"Yes."

"No you don't. But thank you anyway." She giggles.

"Hey, that's not fair. Why do you think I wouldn't remember that?"

"Because I wasn't exactly something people remembered back then."

"I remember you were wearing a pink and blue striped skirt. And your hair was shorter back then. And you were wearing this pink shirt with some sort of fish or something on it."

"You remember all of that?" She questions.

"Yeah, I mean I remember walking past you in the hall and we made eye contact. And then your books sort of just fell all over the place and you freaked out. I thought it was kind of cute how nervous you were about your books and stuff being on the ground so I stopped to help. You seemed kinda scared of me I thought."

"I wasn't scared of you." She says smacking my arm. "I just thought you were super-hot."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, I couldn't stop thinking about how soft your hands were the whole day." She looks up at me shocked.

"No you didn't." She laughs.

"Seriously I did. I was going to ask your name and then Puck showed up and well, I wasn't exactly good at not being a jerk back then. I tried to make it seem like I wasn't talking to you. Sorry about that by the way."

"It's ok. Pretty weird that we ended up this way don't you think?"

"Nah, I think we just sort of proved that we were meant to be."

"How do you figure that out?" she asks as I sit down next to her and take her hand.

"Well, I think it was after that day that I started looking for you in the hall. I mean sure I wasn't cool enough to just ask you out and then I started dating Quinn and stuff, but I always remembered the way your hands felt on mine. I know that's like chick stuff and everything, and while I didn't start naming our kids or anything, I always thought back to that time we touched."

"Really?" She says looking up at me with tears in her eyes.

"Maybe that electricity we felt was our hearts finding each other for the first time?"

"Finn Hudson, that is perhaps the most amazing thing you have ever said to me."

I look down at her and smile feeling pretty proud of myself for coming up with that on my own.

"Wait, does that mean you felt electricity too?" She asks looking up at me surprised.

"Like I just touched an electric fence babe." And suddenly her lips are on mine and she's tossing me back onto the bed. I smile against her mouth and wrap my arms around her waist.

"I love you too." I whisper.

"OK OK OK! The door is open!" I hear Kurt yell as he walks past our room.

Rachel jumps up off the bed quickly. "Ok I guess that is enough rest. Time for more unpacking." I groan and sit up on the bed as she walks out of the room. I see Kurt walk by with a smile on his face.

"COCKBLOCK!" I holler after him.

"That's offensive Finn!" He shouts back.

I walk back out to the kitchen and walk up behind Rachel and wrap my arms around her as I nuzzle into her neck. "I'm glad my heart found yours." I whisper against her skin.

"Me too." She says softly. She turns around and her lips softly graze mine.

"Ok where do you want me to…..oh Lord, they just moved it out into the open now!" Kurt says standing in the hall holding a basketball.

"Baby, leave them alone. I don't want him yelling at me every time I want to kiss you."

"Yeah Kurt! Listen to Blaine!" I say sticking my tongue out at him, out of Rachel's sight.

"Oh hey, look at that, we finally have dishes." Blaine says walking in and noticing the box Rachel is unpacking.

"Yeah my mom must have sent them, because I didn't pack any." I say grabbing the bowls out of Rachel's hand.

"I think that means tonight I can make us all a really good pasta." Blaine says as he checks out the food in the fridge. "One that we don't have to eat off of paper plates."

"Sounds excellent!" I say as my stomach growls. "And just in time too it seems." I pat my belly as Kurt rolls his eyes.

"Maybe I can bake some cookies for dessert." Rachel says as she pulls out some more kitchen supplies from the box.

"I love when you bake baby." I pick her up and spin her around as I kiss her neck. "Especially when you wear that one sexy apron with the bows on it." I growl against her neck.

"No, don't ruin dessert for me." Kurt says putting his hands over his eyes. "I don't need to know about your apron fetish dear brother!"

"Well it's not like she's JUST going to be wearing the apron this time Kurt!"

"THIS TIME! THIS TIME? There was another time with JUST the apron? Please tell me it was at HER house and not ours!"

"Hey, this kind of talk, that's how pornos starts!" Blaine says laughing behind us. Kurt's face drops and he quickly leaves the kitchen.

"God how I love doing that to him." Blaine says as I high five him.

"Right on B!" I laugh. He turns and leaves, most likely to find Kurt and try and get back in his good graces.

"I like that you and Blaine get along." Rachel says suddenly.

"Yeah, he's way cooler than I thought. Did you know that he learned how to play Call of Duty in like thirty minutes? And not like _Kurt learning to play_, but actually learning to play! It's totally awesome."

"We are sort of like our own little family now aren't we?" She says smiling.

"Yeah, it's pretty cool." I walk back over and pick her back up as I kiss her neck gently. I smirk at her and then ask, "SO, what did you name our kids?"

"Ok that's enough of that Finn, no more joking!" she says backing away from me and crossing her arms.

"What? I think it's cute."

"It's embarrassing." She says turning red.

"Why? You didn't name them Elvis or anything did you? Cuz I don't think I could handle that!"

"No, but you won't like them."

"Come on Rach, I won't make fun of you. I mean seriously, I wanted to name my kid Drizzle remember?"

She laughs and I quickly walk over and tickle her sides. "No fair, if I can't make fun of you, you can't make fun of me!"

"Ok fine! If it was a girl I wanted to name her 'Fanny' and for a boy 'Brice'"

"Wait, isn't that from that movie you force me to watch all the time?" She nods her head. "Well I will not have any girl named 'Fanny' in my house! That's like a name for your butt right? That's just an invitation for boys to check her ass out! No way!"

"Oh my God Finn! That name is iconic, and the first thing you think of is that she'd be named after a butt!"

"No daughter of mine is going to be named after a body part that guys stare at."

She walks over and wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me down to her lips. She crushes her lips against mine and I feel her fingers in my hair and I back her up against the stove. She pulls away and stares up at me smiling.

"What was that for?" I ask.

"I don't know. Just hearing you talk about having a daughter. It was kinda sexy." She giggles and I feel my own face burn and bend down to kiss her again.

"Well, one day when we do have kids, I hope they turn out like you."

"You really want to have kids with me?" She says stunned.

"Um, unless you want me to have kids with someone else, which I gotta say I'm not real comfortable with."

She throws herself into my arms again and brings her lips to mine.

"Oh God what did I do now that my eyes deserve this torture?" I hear Kurt say walking back into the kitchen.

"Sorry Kurt, but you're ruining a really nice moment dude!" I say with my lips still attached to Rachel's.

"I told you not to go in there!" I hear Blaine yell from the living room. He turns and walks out of the room mumbling to himself. "They need some kind of freaking make out alarm. Why I am subjected to this kind of indecent exposure day in and day out, I have no idea!"

"I love you, Finn." Rachel whispers in my ear as I feel her hands traveling under my t-shirt.

"I love you too Rachel, but I don't care what you do to me right now, I'm still not naming her Fanny."


	2. Chapter 2

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 2**

**Kurt POV**

"I really hate that I have to leave. I wish I wasn't moving in by myself."

"Kurt, it's only during the week. You'll still be here on the weekends and I'll make sure that they save some of the Finchel love fest just for you!" Blaine is packing up my clothes into my suitcase so that I can move into my dorm today. A part of me is excited to finally get to Julliard, but I thought I would be doing this with Rachel and not on my own.

"What if I hate my roommate? What if he smells bad or worse, what if he dresses like Finn? How will I deal with someone who is fashion challenged?"

"I HEARD THAT KURT!" I hear Finn yell from in front of his Xbox.

"You really need to relax. I'm sure your roommate is going to be just fine." He takes my hand and pulls me down beside him on the bed. "Just be yourself and you are going to do fine."

"Or, you could try being civil and not making fun of everything your roommate does BEFORE you even meet him." Finn says tossing himself down on the chair in the corner of the room.

"Sure Finn, come on in." I say laughing.

"Whaat?" He says as he stuffs his mouth with more chips.

"Did I miss the meeting invite?" I hear Rachel ask from outside the door.

"Well, Blaine and I were talking and Finn decided he needed to be in the conversation I guess."

"HEY! You made fun of me first. That's like an automatic invite to the conversation." Finn protests.

"Well I don't want to be left out." Rachel says walking over and sitting on Finn's lap.

"Ok fine, let's all talk about how nervous I am to be moving out all by myself today!"

"You are going to be fine Kurt! You are amazing. Everyone is going to see that and want to hang out with you." Rachel says grinning at Finn and trying to take the chips from him.

"My chips. What the heck Rach?" He says putting them behind his back.

"Those are so bad for you. And gross." She says making a face.

"They aren't gross Rach. Those mushy ones you make me eat are gross."

"Those are healthy chips Finn, they aren't mushy." She grabs the bag from him and walks over to the door as he jumps up and tries to take them back from her.

"Oh how I'm going to miss this nonsense!" I say rolling my eyes. But really I am. I may complain and yell about all the Finchel love going on in this loft, but even I cannot be unhappy for the two of them. I love them both and seeing them finally getting things right at the same time is pretty amazing. I'll miss the feeling of family that we have created for ourselves here. And I'm really going to miss Blaine. I'm used to having his support and friendship throughout the day. All it takes is a smile or a joke and all of my worries are gone.

"Alright dear, I'm afraid I have to get to school. I really wish I could take you to the dorms today but I can't miss my first week with the firm."

"No Blaine, your externship is important. I understand. Besides, I've got Rachel and Finn to keep me entertained and to drop me off." I look over to see Finn throw Rachel over his shoulder and take off running down the hall with her as she screams and throws the chips toward me. "See, what more do I need with these two around?" I laugh.

"Well I guess you have a point there!" He chuckles as he leans over and kisses me before heading for the door. "I'll pick you up on Friday after school ok?"

"You better, and I'll be hoping for a home cooked meal!"

"You're on!" He says as he grabs his briefcase and walks to the front door. I hear him holler to Finn about meeting him at the coffee shop for lunch and after a few grunts from Finn that seemed to make sense to Blaine he leaves out the front door, leaving me with my suitcases and two very loud roommates.

"OK YOU TWO! I think we should be heading out before I have you both thrown out of here." I shout down the hall and Rachel comes running into my room and hides behind me.

"Shhh. Don't tell him I'm in here." She whispers. If it wasn't for the fact I adore them so much, I would totally have them committed. Suddenly Finn shows up in the door way and sees Rachel hiding behind me.

"Finn Hudson, if you are thinking of doing what I think you are doing!" I yell, but I realize it's too late as he rushes us both and we all topple over onto the bed.

"Ok, besides the sexual undertones of what just happened here, this isn't the start of a gay porno so I'm no longer interested and would like to get a move on with my day! That would include you removing yourself my groin Finn Hudson!"

"Dude gross!" He yells as he stands up.

"Hey I was the one who was molested here, not the other way around! Now please make yourself useful and take my bags to the car please!"

Finn rolls his eyes and grabs my bags and heads for the front door.

"You ready for this Kurt?" Rachel asks.

"Ready as I'll ever be I guess."

When we pull up to Julliard, my stomach is doing flip flops. Right about now I don't think I would even feel better if Blaine sent me another one of those 'courage' texts. "Ok I've changed my mind; can't I just go to Brooklyn with both of you?"

"No way Kurt! Look, you know how bad I want to go here. You get the chance. You are not going to throw that away. You have to do this for me and for yourself. This is your destiny Kurt." Rachel says grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

"Ok I get it Rachel. I get it." I smile and then hug her tightly. "Thank you, Diva."

Finn grabs the bags and we make our way up to the dorms. I haven't met my roommate yet but I know his name is Max. I don't know what type of guy a Max is. But I really hope he's not as scary as he sounds.

"Which one are you?" Finn asks grunting as he carries the bags up yet another flight of stairs.

"528. I think it's just down this hall." I say reading the door numbers as I walk past each. "Here it is." I push open the door and see that half of the room is already claimed, but the room is empty. "I guess I'm this bed over here."

Finn throws all of my stuff on the bed and falls over on it. "Oh my God my back!" He groans.

"Oh this is so exciting Kurt. I wonder what Max is like. Oh he must have a girlfriend, look at all the pictures of him with this girl here." She shows me a picture and I look around and realize there are quite a few pictures of them all over the wall.

"So I guess I shouldn't mention the fact that she's really scary looking in these pictures right?" In almost every photograph she is wearing a biker jacket and is covered in tattoos.

"Yeah Kurt that's probably a bad idea." Finn says from the bed as he looks up at the pictures and scrunches his nose. "But you have a point."

Suddenly the door bursts open and the girl in the photographs appears in the doorway. "Who the hell are you guys?" Great, so the girlfriend is scary AND rude.

"Um, sorry, I'm Kurt Hummel. I'll be rooming in here with your uh friend." I say pointing to the photographs.

"Who Chuck? He doesn't go here; he's dumber than a box of rocks and untalented as all hell." She throws herself onto her bed and looks over at me. "I'm Max! Your roommate."

"Um excuse me? You're Max?" I ask confused.

"Yeah well my mom named me Maxine, but if you ever call me that I might have to snap your arms off." My eyes grow wide and Rachel squeaks and walks over to sit next to Finn.

"Ok Max it is then." I walk over and hold my hand out to shake her hand but she just looks at my hand and then back up to my face before grabbing a book and leaning against the headboard.

"Look, I don't know what small hillbilly town you are from, but if you didn't notice I'm not exactly the friendly type so I would prefer if you and I don't interact or anything. Oh and if Chuck is here, I'm gonna need you to get lost, we only get to have sex when his parole officer thinks he's at work."

Oh dear Lord! There has got to be some sort of mistake because there is no way I am rooming with this person! I turn and walk out the door grabbing my cell phone and texting Blaine about the situation with the lunatic roommate.

"Kurt, I know it seems bad." Rachel starts saying as she comes out of the room.

"Bad! You think that is bad! I think this is a nightmare. She's going to eat me in my sleep or cut me up and mail my body parts to different states!"

"Woah dude, relax. I don't think she's like a serial killer, though I don't think I would get on her bad side, and you might not want to make eye contact with her next time." Finn says staring over his shoulder toward the room.

"You think she has a good side?" I ask him shocked. He looks at me confused and then nods.

"Yeah that's probably her good side that we just saw, no matter, you know I'm here for you 100%, anything you need Kurt, I'm just a phone call away." He reaches out for Rachel and grabs her by the arm and whispers, "Let's get out of here before she totally kills us."

"Yeah thanks for the support dear brother!"

"It's going to be fine Kurt. I promise. Just text me tonight. And remember, be yourself." Rachel hugs me and she and Finn take off down the hall. I turn back towards the room and take a deep breath and walk back in. I make sure not to make direct eye contact with my new pal Max and start unpacking my suitcase and putting my things in the empty drawers.

"So what are you in for?" She asks from her bed.

"Um excuse me?"

"What's your major, you play something, act, sing or something?"

"Oh yes voice. I'm here for singing."

"Dude!" is the only response I get. I nod my head unsure of how to respond to dude; because really I have no idea if that was good or bad. Not even all my years around Puck have prepared me for scary-I'm-going-to-beat-the-crap-out-of-you speak.

When I finish unpacking I sit down at my desk and read my text from Blaine_. 'I'm sure you will be fine and win her over with your charming personality. 3 Blaine'_ I smile as I unpack the photo of Blaine and I at the park before we left Lima. I set it up on the desk.

"Yo, you one of those dudes that likes other dudes or something?" Max says standing behind me. For some reason I immediately tense at the close proximity between us.

"Um if you are asking if he is my boyfriend, then yes, he is."

"S'cool, relax dude. I once liked a chick for like ten minutes. But then she totally scratched my bike and I had to kick her ass so it didn't work out." My eyes widen as she turns and walks out the door slamming it behind her.

I slide down the wall beside the bed and stare at the floor. This Julliard thing is totally not what I was expecting. I think about Carole and my dad and start to wonder if I'm cut out for this. I miss Blaine. Hell I think I would rather watch a 24 hour live feed of Finchel sex than be in this room right now. My phone buzzes up on my desk and I reach up and grab it.

'_I believe in you Kurt. You are stronger than you realize. Check your pockets. 3 R' _I reach into my pockets and feel a piece of paper that I know I didn't put there. I unfold it and see Rachel's handwriting.

Kurt,

Always remember how far we have come.

_Too late for second-guessing__  
><em>_Too late to go back to sleep__  
><em>_It's time to trust my instincts__  
><em>_Close my eyes: and leap!_

_I know you can do this! _

_Love, _

_Rachel_

I hold the note to my chest as I feel the tears fall down my face. I _can_ do this. I've worked too hard to let anything or anyone stop me now. It's time to show the world what Kurt Hummel can do.


	3. Chapter 3

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 3**

**Rachel POV**

"Finn if you don't get out of bed in the next two minutes, we are going to be late for our first day of classes!" Finn sits up and looks around the room and then falls back into bed.

"Five more minutes mom!" He says sleepily.

"If you don't get up right now, you will be sorry! I have a 6am class. Would you hurry up?" I lean over him and he quickly rolls the other way. Well I did warn him.

I stomp out of the room and into the kitchen.

"Morning!" Blaine says cheerily from the kitchen table. I reach up and grab a pitcher and fill it with cold water. "Uh are you just really thirsty because we have actual glasses." I smile at him and walk back out of the room. When I enter the bedroom I see that Finn is still sleeping.

"Finn, you have three seconds to get out bed. Three…two….one!" I shout as I pour the entire contents of the pitcher onto his sleeping head.

"Oh my God! What the hell?" He screams jumping up out of bed. I quickly turn and walk out of the room and put the pitcher in the sink. I walk over and begin getting my breakfast ready and sit down at the table with Blaine.

"I'm taking it that he is not doing so well with the early morning class time?" He says with a chuckle.

"Apparently not." I laugh. "So how is Kurt doing?"

"He's still freaked out. Apparently he only sleeps with his back to the wall and with one eye opened. But I'm sure he's just exaggerating."

"He'll be fine. I'm sure once he gets to know her they will become great friends."

Blaine laughs loudly. "I'll be sure to tell him that!"

Finn stalks into the kitchen with his hair still wet but at least he is dressed for the day. "You could have just asked me to get up Rach." My mouth drops open.

"You're kidding right?" I say. "You do know I've been trying to wake you up for thirty minutes?"

"Yeah well there was no need to soak the bed! You are totally sleeping on that side tonight!" He sulks.

"No way, that's your lesson to learn. Next time, get out of bed when the alarm goes off."

Finn pouts all the way to school and refuses to talk, so I spend the ride looking out the window at New York. I can't wait to start school. My first class is 'ear training' and I'm really nervous about getting professional training. What if I'm really not good enough and that's why Julliard turned me down?

We pull up to the school and park and I lean over and kiss Finn on the cheek.

"Baby, you gotta talk to me sometime. I'm sorry about the water."

"It was really uncool Rach." He pouts.

"How about we meet for lunch in Central Park? It will be our first official picnic in the park."

He looks over and finally smiles at me. "Ok I think I can do that. Just no more water ok!"

"Fine, but promise me you will try and get up tomorrow."

"I promise" He grins, "but you know there are better ways to wake me up than throwing water on me." He leans over and nibbles on my neck.

I giggle and pull back. "Yes but that wouldn't get us out of bed Finn." I kiss him quickly on the lips and hop out of the car. He climbs out and grabs his bag and takes my hand as we walk toward the conservatory building.

"Ok you know where your first class is right?"

"Yes mom!" He says winking at me. "I've got English at 7. And then I come over your way for my percussion class at 10. You want to do lunch at noon?"

"Sounds great! My last class is 10:30 today." I lean up and kiss him on the cheek and head off toward my building.

"Love you Rach, knock their socks off!" He yells out behind me. I look back and blow him a kiss and turn back to the building. I feel like my stomach is in my throat and suddenly I realize that I'm terrified to enter the building. I see a few kids go in ahead of me and I fall in behind them and search for the auditorium we are to meet in.

When I find it I open the double doors and my mouth drops as I enter Whitman Hall. It's beautiful. I quickly file in to one of the rows and take a seat near the front. A man starts speaking from the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please take your seats. My name is James Bowyer, I am an associate professor here at the Conservatory of music and I wanted to welcome you personally to the start of your journey with us. I am very excited to have all of you here beginning your studies in voice. In a few minutes you will all be going off to your classrooms to study with your professors…."

I look around while he is still talking and see a wide range of people sitting around me. I immediately start scanning the room for what I think will be my biggest competition. But before I get too far, we are split up into classrooms to begin.

"Who wants to go first?" I hear our professor Ms. McCaffrey ask from the front of the room. "Do we not have anyone brave enough to start us off?" I look around and see that most of the other students are looking at the ground. I can't believe no one is going to volunteer to sing. I slowly raise my hand.

"Oh yes, we have a volunteer. What is your name miss?" She asks.

"My name is Rachel Berry."

"And what will you be singing for us today Ms. Berry?"

I look over at the piano player. He smiles at me which throws me off because I'm used to Brad frowning as I talk to him. "Um can you play 'My Man' by Barbara?"

"Do I look new here?" He jokes.

As the music plays, I belt out the song with tears in my eyes. I really can't sing a song without crying. As I finish singing the classroom begins clapping and the teacher walks over and pats me on the back.

"Very very good. That is an excellent start. Very amazing instrument that you have in such a little package." She smiles. Feeling confident I walk back to my seat with my head held high.

The rest of the day is spent changing classrooms to focus on a different aspect of music. I find it all very interesting and can hardly believe when the class ends and I realize I need to meet Finn. I run out of the building and see Finn leaning against the car smiling at me. He has a picnic basket on the hood of the car.

"Hey where did you get all this?" I ask him.

"I had some time, I went shopping. You ready?"

"Definitely. I have so much to tell you about." I say climbing in.

"Me too. Today was pretty cool actually." He says grinning.

We get to Central Park and find a nice quiet spot under a tree to set up our picnic. "This is almost like being at the lake." I say smiling up at him.

"Yeah, I like it here. So how was your first day?" He asks.

"Oh my goodness it was wonderful. I got to sing today. I was the first one that raised my hand, and the teacher seemed very happy with me. I was so excited. And everyone is really nice so far." I grab the sandwiches and pull them out and unwrap one for Finn and hand it to him. "What about you?"

"Well English was no fun, but I didn't figure it would be. But the percussion class was so awesome Rach. I really like it a lot." He lies down on the blanket beside me resting his head on my leg. I feel my phone buzz in my pocket. Without looking I quickly answer it.

"Hello?"

"Yo Berry! You miss me?" I hear Noah say into the phone.

"Oh my God Noah! Are you in L.A.? How are you doing? Is Sam ok? What are you doing?" I shout into the phone. Finn looks up at me laughing.

"Rach, he's not that bright, you can only ask him one question at a time!"

"You tell him I heard that!" Noah says into the phone. I smack Finn on the arm and laugh into the receiver. "But to answer your questions, yes, great, yes, talking to you."

"Noah those are not sufficient answers!" I shout.

"Yeah well those are Puckerman answers, if you want better answers you are going to have to ask Evans!" I hear Sam in the background.

"Give the phone to me jackass! Would you just give it to me?" I hear static and shuffling and then Sam's voice on the line.

"Hey babe! How's New York treating you?" He says cheerily.

"Oh Sam, I miss you so much! New York is great though. How are you guys doing?"

"Well we are surviving. Got a cheap place off the water, been surfing actually which is cool." I hear Noah yell in the background.

"He's got the hair for it!" and then "OUCH! Dammit Evans, no kicking!"

"Sorry about that, you know Puck, his mouth gets the best of him." Sam laughs. "How is Finn doing? Is he homesick yet?"

I look down at Finn who is smiling up at me while eating an apple. I run my hands through his hair and he reaches over and grabs my hand and kisses it. "He seems to be adjusting fine so far." I say into the phone as I smile down at Finn.

"Great! We miss you. Even Puck though he won't admit that, but he's always asking if I think you are Ok."

I giggle and let out a loud sigh. "I miss you both a lot. I can't believe it's only been a few weeks since I've seen you. How is UCLA?"

"Great actually, I started classes last week. Tried out for the football team too. Didn't make the actual team, but I did make the practice team."

Puck yells, "Yeah he's a blocking dummy." Followed by another yelp.

"That's very exciting Sam, I'm so happy you are doing well. What is Noah up to while you are working hard at school?"

"Well, he's majoring in blondes at the moment, but he may be switching majors by next week." He laughs.

"Dude, get off the phone, look at that one." I hear Puck whisper in the background. "Holy shit look at her friend." He says.

"Uh Rach, something came up, we uh gotta go, but we will call you soon ok." Sam says quickly and I laugh at how unsubtle they are.

"Ok you two. Love you both, be good and tell Noah that he doesn't need to start impregnating the entire west coast now!"

"Will do, love you too. Bye girl." I hear the phone click and Finn grabs it from my hands and pulls me down into a kiss.

"I thought they would never shut up." He grins.

"Mmmm. Hi." I smirk.

"Hi! Did I tell you how beautiful New York looks on you?"

I know I'm blushing, but I don't even care. "Finn, you can't wear New York."

"Nope, but somehow you and New York just agree with each other. But I guess maybe I could have it wrong. Maybe New York just looks better with you in it."

I lean over and kiss him again. "I love you." I say against his lips.

"I love you too." He whispers back. He pulls back and looks up at me. "By the way, look over there." He points behind me. I look back and see a park bench.

"It's a bench Finn." I giggle.

"Not just any bench Rachel. That's our bench. Look again." I look over and that's when I realize where we are. This is where Finn and I got back together Junior year. He sits up and takes my hands.

"This is where you took another chance on me." He says quietly. I smile at him and kiss his cheek. "Do you ever regret it?"

"What?" I ask surprised.

"Taking a chance on me?" He says staring at me.

"Never. Taking that chance was the smartest thing I ever did. Look at us now Finn! We made it to New York, we are both living our dreams."

"Well I could have done that anywhere Rachel Berry. It's exactly what I said that night. You are my New York. I'd go anywhere to be with you."

I lean in and kiss his lips and wrap my arms around him. "Finn Hudson, what made you so amazing?"

"Well I wasn't always this way. But I met this girl."

I giggle. "Oh really? A girl? Do I know her?"

"Maybe." He grins. "She's only the most wonderful and talented person on the planet."

I laugh. "Now it's the whole planet?"

"Ok fine, the universe!" He exclaims. I giggle as he pulls me down on the blanket and brings his lips to mine for another New York kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 4**

**Blaine POV**

"Where is my coffee?"

"Excuse me sir? I wasn't aware that getting coffee was one of my job responsibilities." I stare over at the man who is my mentor at the firm.

"Well now you are aware. I take it black and I wanted it ten minutes ago." He looks back down at his laptop and begins typing.

I walk into the break room and pour a cup of coffee. It's been two weeks with this jerk and already I hate this job. All I've done is run errands. He refuses to teach me anything I am supposed to be learning and then reports back to my instructor that I am being difficult to work with. I can't win with this jerk. I walk back in and hand him his coffee. He doesn't bother to look up or thank me for the coffee and I sit back down at my desk and continue looking over the briefs for the case he is working on.

"Hey, I thought that guy was supposed to have been in Las Vegas on the 10th." I say pointing to an entry in his brief. He walks over and looks over my shoulder.

"Yeah I already told you that." He starts to walk away but I quickly pull up the folder with the photographs from the case.

"Then why do we have receipts from Seattle from the 10th?" I quickly scan through the photos and find the one I'm looking for. It's hard to see, but the receipt sticking out of the wallet clearly says the 10th." He walks back over and looks at the picture.

"Well I'll be damned. How did I miss that?" He says. "Nice catch Blaine. Why don't you take the rest of the day off? I'll make sure to report this to my boss."

"Uh, sure. I mean, are you sure you don't need me to stay?"

"Yes, you did good, now enjoy your day."

"Um ok then." I grab my bag and head out to the corner in front of the building to catch my cab. I pull out my phone and quickly send off a text to Finn.

'_Out early, you wanna get coffee? BA'_

I climb in the cab and tell the driver to head over to 'The Perk' when I feel my phone vibrate. I pull up the text from Finn.

'_Sure, just got out of class. B there in 10. FH'_

When I get to 'The Perk', I pay the cab fare and head in to the front counter to order.

"Hey Blaine, where's your friend? You know the tall one?" The girl behind the counter asks. She has a thing for Finn and I guess if I wasn't gay I could totally see the appeal, but dumb doesn't look good on a guy or a girl.

"Yeah, he's meeting me here." I quickly pay her.

"You should totally hook us up! Do a girl a solid man!"

"Yeah he's like practically married. Trust me, you don't' want to go there." She shrugs and hands over my coffee and I head over to my table as I see Finn walk in.

"Hey, did you finally get fired or something." He says walking over.

"Nah, gave me the day off after I saved his case."

"Cool, I'm gonna go get something. You good?" He asks as he walks toward the counter.

"Yeah I'm good, just watch out. Tiffany's on the prowl."

He scrunches up his face and heads toward the counter. I can hear the giggle coming from the other side of the room so I can tell that Tiffany made sure to take his order. I laugh to myself as I quickly send off a text to Kurt to remind him that I'll be picking him up after class tomorrow. I'm really glad that it's almost the weekend and I can see Kurt again. It's only been one week but I already miss him like crazy.

"Wow, you weren't kidding. What do I have to do to make that stop? It's like I need to tattoo Rachel's name to my forehead or something so she gets the hint."

"Yeah so much for just ordering coffee." I say looking down at his napkin with her phone number written on it.

"Crap! This girl is insane." He wads up the napkin and tosses it in the bin next to me. "Hey I hope you don't mind but I invited a guy I met at school to join us. He's pretty cool. I met him after my percussion class. He plays a mean ass guitar. Reminds me of Puck minus the hawk."

"That's cool. I feel like I need to meet more people. I spend all my time either at the firm or in class with stuck up idiots."

"Yo Hudson!" I hear a voice behind me and look up to see a guy in his early 20's wearing a black leather jacket.

"Kyle, dude, thanks for coming." Finn says standing up and fist bumping him. I never did understand the purpose of the fist bump when a hand shake seems so much more civilized than punching someone's fist. "Kyle this is Blaine, the guy I was telling you about."

"Hey dude, nice threads." He says putting out his fist and I lightly tap it with my palm.

Turns out Kyle is actually pretty cool. Trained in classical guitar with a background in jazz and rock. Before we realize it we have been sitting there talking about music for an hour when Tiffany interrupts up.

"Hey Finn." She says cleaning up the cups around us.

"Uh hey Tiffany." He says clearing his throat.

"I heard you guys talking about music over here, do you guys like play together?" She asks.

"Um we haven't no. Why?"

She frowns. "Oh it's just our Friday night band totally got food poisoning and can't play tomorrow night. I was thinking it would be pretty cool if you had a band. I like guys in a band." She winks.

Finn rolls his eyes and looks at his phone. "Did you hear that? I think my phone just rang." I'm pretty sure I didn't hear anything but he picks the phone up and starts talking into it. "Oh hey Rachel, baby, love of my life. How are you?" Tiffany frowns and walks away and Finn tosses the phone back down. "Geez! She's worse than Quinn."

He starts up a conversation with Kyle about something but I just keep rolling around in my head what Tiffany was talking about. A band. It's not a bad idea. It would be a total stress reliever for both of us.

"Why can't we be a band? For like one night?" I say interrupting their conversation.

"What? Are you serious?" Finn says laughing.

"Why not? You're an awesome drummer, sounds like you can play guitar, and I can sing. We could totally be rock stars for one night."

"Uh because it's tomorrow night and none of us have ever played together." Finn says.

"Can you really sing?" Kyle asks.

"Wait what?" Finn says staring at Kyle. "You think it's a good idea. You don't even really know him."

"Ok but can he sing?" He asks Finn again.

"Well yeah he can sing, but that's not the point."

"Then what is? He can sing, you kick on drums, and I would kill to let my guitar skills loose in front of a real crowd. Its one night. What the hell?"

"Awesome!" I say holding my hand up to Kyle. He high fives me and we both look at Finn.

"This is crazy! Are you both actually serious?" Finn asks. "You both realize how busy we are with school and homework and life."

"Dude, you sound like a girl!" Kyle directs at Finn.

Finn rolls his eyes and looks over at me.

"Finn, its one Friday. What can it hurt?" I say. Kyle jumps up and runs over to Tiffany. Suddenly she squeals and hugs him and runs to the back of the counter talking to her manager with her arms swinging wildly as she talks. She runs back over to Kyle and hands him a piece of paper. Kyle walks back over to the table with a huge grin on his face.

"Well I got her number, and the gig." He says smirking.

"Dude that's the best news ever!" Finn chirps.

"So you are in?" I ask him.

"I was talking about Tiffany giving someone else her number! But sure I'm in."

"This is going to be fucking awesome!" Kyle shouts.

"We need a name." I announce.

"One night stand." Kyle says proudly as he looks at his new phone number he has acquired.

"That's stupid." Finn says.

"No I'm serious. We are only going to be here Friday night. Our little band exists for one night. We're a one night stand. It's perfect." Kyle winks over at me.

"It's only one night Finn. It works." I offer.

"Fine, but you are explaining the name to Rachel!" He says as he tosses a couple ones on the table and grabs his stuff. "I'll see you at home." He fist bumps Kyle and heads out the door.

"Girl got him on a tight chain eh?" Kyle asks.

"He put himself on that chain so I don't think he minds." I laugh.

When I get home I hear Rachel and Finn talking in the kitchen. "What do you mean it's a one night stand? That's vulgar. "Rachel is saying to Finn.

I walk into the room and she immediately looks at me. "You do realize he has school right?"

"Yes Rachel. Its one night. We are just filling in for another band. It's a one-time thing." I say patting Finn on the back.

"Have you told Kurt yet?" She asks with her hands on her hips.

"No. But I'm sure he will love the idea." I walk out and open my cell phone and send Kurt a text.

'_Playing a gig with Finn and a friend at perk 2morow. One night stand. Wanna come? B'_

I get undressed and throw on my t-shirt and shorts when the phone beeps on the bed.

'_What the hell is a one night stand? Are you out of your mind?' _

I groan as I read the text and Rachel walks by heading to the bathroom. "I told you he wouldn't like it."

"You two are way too much alike." I holler down the hall after her.

I quickly dial Kurt's number and I hear him answer on the first ring.

"What is a one night stand?" He asks matter of factly.

"Kurt, it's just the name of the band. It's because we are only playing for one night."

"Then why not call it One Night Gig? Or Only Here One Night."

"Kurt relax. It's just a name." I laugh as I fall back on the bed.

"What did Rachel say?" He asks.

"Are you two connected by one brain or something? Rachel will be fine."

"So she didn't like it either then!" He says smugly.

"Look, I'll pick you up after school and you can come home and get ready. I want you to be there. I haven't sang since that last nursing home gig I did. I need this Kurt."

I hear him sigh on the other end. "Fine, you know I'll be there for anything you need me for. And it will be nice to hear you sing again. Just don't go picking up any cute waiters!"

"Nah, the only waiters there are the ones who keep giving their numbers to Finn." Just as the words leave my mouth I see Rachel enter my room. Her mouth drops and she runs back out of the room yelling.

"Finn Christopher Hudson!"

"What was that?" Kurt asks.

"I think I just got Finn in trouble." I sigh.

I see Finn get up from his Xbox and walk over to Rachel. "I threw it away! You know you are the only person for me baby!" She turns and stomps off slamming her door behind her.

"What the hell dude?" Finn asks standing in my door.

"I gotta go Kurt. You'll go tomorrow right?" I ask.

"Yes Blaine, I'll go. I'll always go for you. Love you."

"Love you too Kurt." I hang up and walk over to Rachel's door and knock.

"GO AWAY FINN! " She yells.

"It's Blaine." I say into the door. It swings open and she pulls me into the room slamming it shut behind us.

"Look Rachel, sorry you heard that. Really I am. But trust me, Finn is only addicted to you. He throws every single number away the moment he gets it." I say as she sits on the bed.

"Really?" She says with tears in her eyes.

"He loves you. In fact, he was totally against the entire band thing. He was worried about school and you. You got a good guy there!"

She jumps up and hugs me and I walk back out the door. Finn is sitting on the floor just outside the door. He jumps up and looks over at me. "Well?"

"You're good. She won't kill you." He pats me on the back and opens the door.

"Rach?" He says. I see her run up and jump into Finn's arms as she attacks his lips and runs her hands up into his hair. I reach in and close the door behind them.

I walk back into my room and turn on the radio. I'm so excited to be back on the stage tomorrow. I didn't realize how much I missed it until now.

I hear banging against the wall and grab the wireless ear plugs and turn up the radio. I guess I have myself to blame for the Finchel show tonight! I grab my phone and see I missed a text from Kurt.

'_U better not have angered the Finchel. U won't get sleep 2night. K'_

'_Trust me, that's not anger I hear & def no sleep 2night. B'_


	5. Chapter 5

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 5**

**Finn POV**

"Ok Finn, if you could please play the next part for the rest of the class." The instructor says from behind the podium.

We've been working on perfecting a few bars for about an hour now and I feel pretty confident about the arrangement. I climb up on the stage and sit down behind the drum kit and bang out the first part of the song. I've learned the whole song already so I just keep going until I look up and see the professor smiling and giving me the thumbs up. I stop playing quickly.

"Yeah sorry, I think I went a little further than you wanted me to go." I say.

"No no, Finn that was very good. You really have the song down. Great job."

I hop up from the kit and head back to my seat. The rest of class goes by very quickly and at the end of class I gather up my stuff and start to head to the exit.

"Finn, can I speak to you a minute?" My instructor yells from behind me.

I turn back and walk towards him. I really enjoy taking his class and he's been pretty cool to me. "Sure sir, what's up?"

"I just wanted to let you know how impressed I am with your progress. You are well ahead of the rest of the class. You have a lot of talent."

"Wow, thanks!" I say. His phone rings and he answers it.

"I need to take this, can you wait just a moment, it won't be long." He walks out the door to take his call.

The back door to the room then swings open and a young boy who looks to be about 6 comes running through the doors. "DADDY WHERE ARE YOU?" He yells.

"Oh uh, who's your dad?" I ask him.

"Who are you?" He says crossing his arms and looking up at me. "Wow you're tall!"

I laugh as he cranes his neck to see me. "Well I'm Finn. And who are you?"

"That's a weird name! I'm Donny. My daddy teaches in here. Are you in his class?"

I chuckle as he climbs onto the desk chair and looks at me. "Well little guy, I am in your dad's class. And how is Finn any weirder than Donny?"

"Because I've never heard of a Finn before!"

"Well now you have!" I laugh.

"So do you play the drums too?" He asks.

"Yeah, I do. Do you play?"

"I'm too small. I just bang on them." He says pouting.

"Hey you are never too small. I started playing when I was your age."

His eyes get big and he jumps down from the chair and runs over to the drum kit. "Show me, show me!"

I walk over and grab my sticks out of my book bag. "Ok but you gotta use these sticks. They are special."

"REALLY! What do they do?" he asks as he reaches out and grabs them from me.

"Well they help you play like a rock star. But don't tell anyone or they won't work!"

He taps on the snare a couple of times. "These are cool!" he shouts.

"Now you should try and use both sticks. If you hold it like this you can get a really cool sound." I reach over and re-position the stick in his hand and he taps the snare and the sticks bounce off and his eyes grow wide.

"They are magic! Are you a real rock star?" He says amazed.

"Can you keep a secret?" I say leaning over to whisper in his ear as he nods his head up and down excitedly. "I'm supposed to be a rock star tonight but I'm really nervous."

"Why are you nervous, I bet you are totally awesome?" He smiles widely.

"Well I'm pretty new at it."

"You just need your lucky sticks." He says handing them over to me.

"Oh those won't work for me anymore. Do you think you can hold on to them for me?"

"Really? You want me to watch your magic sticks for you! What will you do tonight?"

"I think I feel better just knowing I can pass these on to you. But you gotta do me a favor and practice. Because you can't be a rockstar without a ton of practice ok!"

"Oh I'm so gonna use these every night, just the way you showed me to! Then we can be rock stars together." He turns around, "Daddy!"

I see my instructor standing in the door way and he bends over and picks up his son. "What ya got there Don?" He asks him.

"Oh these?" He says looking at the drum sticks. "Just some sticks Finn is letting me use." He turns back and winks at me.

"Ok buddy, go find your mom." He says as he puts Donny back down on the ground.

"Later Finn, good luck tonight on your…." He stops and whispers, "thing."

"Thanks Donny. See ya around and don't forget to practice." I say as I wave at him.

"Impressive Finn. You were really good with him. He never listens to anyone. Have you ever considered working with kids?" he asks.

"Me? Kids? I definitely never thought about that!" I laugh.

"Well you should. I think you could really find music education rewarding."

The rest of the walk back to the car is spent in thought. Music education. Kinda like Mr. Schue only cooler because it's with instruments and stuff.

I see Rachel jump out of the car and launch herself into my arms.

"Woah. Hey there." I laugh as I kiss her.

"Hi, how's my drummer doing today? You excited for tonight?" She asks as she takes my hand and we walk back toward the car.

"I'm stoked. It's gonna be awesome. You know, for a coffee shop gig."

"You will be amazing." She smiles as she gets into the car.

Halfway home I look over at her. "Hey Rach, do you think I could be like Mr. Schue?"

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"Like do you think I'd be good with kids and stuff? For like music."

"I think you'd be good at anything you set your mind too Finn, but where is this coming from?"

"My instructor said he thought I should look into music instruction for kids. I met his son today, cool kid by the way, and I kinda showed him how to play the drums. I actually liked it too. I don't know I mean I need to figure out what I want to do with my major and stuff. I never thought that would be something I could do, but maybe."

I look over and she's smiling really big at me. "Finn, that's amazing. I think that would be a really nice direction to take your education. It's keeping with what you love and it gives you a real career choice."

"I'll have to think about it some more. Maybe I'll give mom a call tomorrow and see what she thinks." I reach over and take her hand and head toward the loft to get ready for tonight.

When we walk into the loft I can hear Kurt talking loudly in the kitchen. "And then she took my scarf! MY SCARF BLAINE! And she put it under a pile of her dirty laundry. IT STINKS BLAINE!"

"Well maybe she didn't put it under the laundry and instead just threw her laundry on the chair without realizing your scarf was there." Blaine says.

"Are you sticking up for her? You don't even know her!"

"No No, of course not. I'm just saying maybe you are freaking out thinking she is maliciously taking your stuff when maybe she's just an idiot."

"Well…..I guess…." Kurt says as we walk into the kitchen.

"Saved by the interruption." Blaine whispers under his breath.

"You almost ready to go?" I ask Blaine.

"Yeah let me go change, I don't want to wear this stuffy suit tonight. I've performed enough concerts in a uniform." He walks out of his kitchen toward his room.

When we finally get to 'The Perk' after waiting forever for Rachel and Kurt to figure out what would look like their best supportive outfits, I'm actually surprised at how busy the place is. However, I can still hear Tiffany from across the room as she squeals when we walk in the door and runs over to us.

"Finn! You look hot!" She says and I immediately feel Rachel's hand grip mine.

"Uh hey Tiffany. Have you met my girlfriend?" I say looking over at Rachel.

"Um yeah hi, Rebecca was it?" Tiffany says.

"Rachel dear! It's ok at least you got the first letter right." Rachel giggles.

"OH KYLE!" she squeals and pushes past us to drag Kyle in the front door.

I lean over and whisper in Rachel's ear. "Told you she was nothing to worry about."

"You didn't mention she was an idiot. That might have helped your case." She laughs.

We make our way over to the small stage and set up our gear. Rachel helps Blaine set up the mic and plugs in all the cords for Kyle as Kurt sets up a few seats for Rachel and him to sit in on the side of the stage. I walk over and take off my leather jacket and drape it over her shoulders. "Can you watch this for me babe?" She slides her arms in the sleeves and I take a step back from her. "Wow, you need to wear that tonight!"

She blushes. "Well I guess if it means I get to go home with a real rock star!"

"Babe, you get to do more than go home with me." I slap her on the butt and walk back to my drum kit.

"Hey, we're One Night Stand, let's rock this joint!" Blaine shouts into the mic.

The rest of the set is a blur. People are shouting and dancing and I can hear people singing along with the songs we chose to cover. Blaine is freaking amazing. His hair is wild and the girls are going insane with every move he makes. I laugh loudly when I see Kurt rolling his eyes as one of the girls keeps flirting with him from the front of the stage.

I see Rachel clapping and smiling proudly from the side of the stage and she blows me a kiss between songs. When the set finishes Blaine introduces the Kyle and I and I hear a few girls shout "The drummer is hot!" when he introduces me. Freaking amazing!

By the time we finish up it's almost midnight and people start clearing out as we tear down.

"Hello there sexy." I hear behind me. I turn and see Rachel still in my leather jacket which goes really nicely with the skinny jeans she is wearing.

"Hey, you probably shouldn't hit on me with my girlfriend here." I laugh.

"Oh darn, you have a girlfriend. Can't you just forget about her for one night?" She says walking up and putting her hands on my chest.

"Sorry, can't do, she's not the kind of girl you can forget."

She smiles up at me and kisses me. I grin against her lips. "So did someone enjoy the gig?"

"Someone thinks that her very hot boyfriend is irresistible when he's playing the drums."

"Irresistable huh?" I smirk.

"And sexy." She says reaching down to smack my butt as she pulls me in for another hot kiss.

"Ok time to go home!" I say grabbing her hand and dragging her off to find the rest of the group.

I find Blaine talking to Tiffany's boss and he hands him an envelope and shakes his hand. Blaine walks back toward us and opens the envelope. He splits it three ways and hands me some cash. "Not bad for a couple of hours of fun!" Blaine says.

"That was really awesome guys!" I say to both Blaine and Kyle. "But I totally need to go home, we ready?"

"We were gonna hang out for a bit." Kyle says looking at Kurt and Blaine.

I look over at Rachel and that damn leather jacket. "Uh yeah I'm really tired." I say faking a yawn. "Gotta get home. You take the car, we'll take a cab."

I grab Rachel's hand and drag her out the door. I hear Kurt behind me "Looks like we aren't going home for a while. They could go at it all night with the way Rachel was screaming during that set."

We hail a cab and head toward home. "So you really liked the set huh?" I say smiling down at her.

"Baby you have no idea what you do to me when you sit behind those drums!"

"Yeah I do! Why do you think I always played the drums during our duets back in high school?"

"So are you ok with me being your one night stand?" She says laughing and throwing her head back on the seat.

I lean over and kiss her neck and run my tongue up to her earlobe as I hear her moan loudly. I whisper against her ear. "Baby I don't think you are going to be able to stand after tonight!" I feel her hands reach under my shirt as she brings her lips hard against mine.

"HEY! This is your stop!" I hear the cab driver shout from the front. I reach into my jacket that Rachel is still wearing and toss the cash at him as Rachel climbs out of the cab. As soon as we get to the staircase Rachel climbs a few steps and turns and launches herself at me. I run my hand into her hair and reach the other hand down to lift her butt up toward me as I continue up the stairs.

"God I want you so bad." I whisper in her ear.

I back her up against the wall and lean into her feeling my pants growing tighter. "Baby, I need you now." She moans.

I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder and carry her up the next two flights while fumbling in my pocket for the keys. I put her down at the door and she attaches herself to my neck and I feel her tongue hot against my skin as I drop the keys. "Dammit." Rachel leans down and grabs the keys and unlocks the door and the second it opens I push her through and slam it shut with her against it.

I quickly pull off my t-shirt and start unbuttoning my pants as she removes her own. She starts to pull off the jacket but I quickly stop her. "Leave it on." I wink at her. I push her back up against the door as she wraps her leg around my waist. I rub my hand against her core. "Wow someone's turned on."

"Baby, please." She groans.

Yeah that's enough talking. I quickly free myself from my boxers and push myself against her opening as she leans backward and lifts herself up as I slide into her. "Oh God Finn!" She yells. I grab her hips and help steady her as I slam inside her sucking on her neck just below her earlobe. "Yes Finn, oh, baby, yes, right there." She yells as I slam harder inside her. Sex with Rachel has definitely gotten more interesting since we moved out of our parents houses.

I turn us toward the right and set her down on the hall table as I continue to slam into her as her finger nails scrape against my chest. "God Rach!" I hear myself moan.

I move my hand to her clit and her nails dig into my skin. "FUCK!" I yell.

I feel her start to tense and I know she is seconds from coming apart. "Yes Finn, oh God yes." The moment she tightens, I feel myself explode inside of her as I ride out my own orgasm.

"Wow!" I pant. "I need to play the drums for you more often."

"Won't your girlfriend get mad?" She giggles.

"Oh very funny!"

I pick her up and carry her to the couch and l lie down beside her. "So was this a pretty good one night stand? Am I supposed to leave when you fall asleep?" she giggles.

"Actually I was thinking you could stay forever." I say running my hand over hers.

"Finn, that's not a one night stand." She says as she smacks my arm.

"Good cuz I was kinda looking for something a little more permanent."

She smiles up at me, and I realize that I really do mean it. She's it for me.

"Well good, cuz I'm not going anywhere." She says snuggling into my side.

"Hmmm, maybe we should at least go to our bedroom before Kurt comes home and dies of a heart attack."

"Good idea." She says smiling and getting up from the couch. "Maybe then I can give you the rock star treatment." She leans over and nips at my ear and walks off toward the bedroom. I look up over the couch and all I can see is the leather jacket sitting just over her naked butt. I jump up over the back of the couch and run after her.

"Damn I love being a rock star!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Brand New Start **

**Chapter 6**

**Kurt POV**

"Kurt why don't you sing the first few bars and then Renee can finish with the last few bars." I look over at the petite girl at the end of the row and she rolls her eyes with her back to the instructor and then looks back and smiles at her.

"Wonderful, come on Kurt." She says cheerily.

I groan and pull myself out of my seat and up to the mic. The music starts and I sing my lines and Renee finishes the verse as the instructor looks on.

"Very good both of you. Very nice pitch Kurt. Well that looks like all we are going to get to today. Practice the song and we will continue on Monday."

Before I leave the stage, Renee leans over and whispers "Don't even think about taking this solo from me." She leans back and smiles. "I've seen better pitch on a baseball field."

"Well it's a good thing you don't decide who gets the solo then." I say walking away from her.

"We'll see." She spits.

I march up the stairs to my room and swing the door open as I toss my bag on the floor by the bed and throw myself down on it.

"What's up with you Special K?" Max asks from the other side of the room.

"Nothing." I skulk.

"Oh come on, you've been moping around the room for 3 days now. What crawled up your panties?"

"That's offensive Max! But if you must know, it's Renee."

"That scrawny little bitch from 4B?" She asks.

I roll my eyes. "Yeah that's her. She hates me. And all she ever does is threaten me about every solo, it's like high school all over again."

"Do you want me to kick her ass or do you think you'll grow your own balls by Monday?"

"HAHA! Whatever!" I yell. I must admit that I've grown kind of fond of Max. Sure she's odd. And she still scares the crap out of me. And there is that one issue of her stealing my boxer shorts to make bandanas which I got over until I saw Chuck wearing a pair of them on his head during their last "booty" call. But she looks out for me and there is something to be said for having a roommate that the rest of the school steps out of the way for. Most people don't mess with me when they realize who my roommate is.

"Is Lil B coming to get you today?" She asks while creepily cutting up another pair of my boxers. I laugh at her nickname for Blaine. When she first met him she thought he was a miniature and she picked him up off the ground and carried him around. So she started calling us Special K and Lil B. It's creepy, but I've learned to live with it.

"Yeah he should be here in an hour. Can't wait to get home."

"And miss all this?" She says pointing to the mess of clothes scattered all over her side of the room.

"Yeah somehow I'll manage Max!" I laugh.

I gather up my stuff to head back to the loft for the weekend and quickly check my email to see if my dad responded to my last letter. I see an email from Carole.

'_Hi Kurt,_

_It's Carole, Burt has been very busy at the shop but he wanted me to write this email and tell you all how much we miss you. We are hoping you will all come home for the holidays this year. We miss you guys a lot and would really like to see all four of you come home for Christmas. The house is very quiet but we are both so very proud of you._

_Love, mom'_

I print off the email to take to Finn as Blaine walks in the door.

"Lil B!" Max yells as she hops off the bed and lifts Blaine off the ground in a big hug.

"Oh, yes hi Max. Nice to see you too." He says as she sets him down. "You ready to go Kurt."

"You keep an eye on Special K this weekend. He's had a rough week." She says. Blaine looks at me confused and I wave him off as if to say I'd tell him later.

As soon as we get in the cab he turns to me. "What was that about? Is something going on?"

"Nah, just this girl driving me insane at school. No big deal. She's ambitious like Rachel, but with an attitude like Quinn."

"Ouch, that's a scary combination." He says chuckling.

"So what's the game tonight?" I ask. Every weekend we do something together, just the four of us. We call it the Klanchel Fun night. We play one game and watch one movie every Friday night. The first weekend, everyone argued about what game we would play and then a fight broke out when Finn wanted to watch Terminator for the fourth time that week and Rachel wanted to watch Funny Girl again. So we realized we needed rules. Each week we take turns. One weekend Finn and Blaine will pick the game we play while Rachel and I pick the movie and then the next week we switch. We can't watch the same thing twice so it gives us some variety.

"Well Finn and I have chosen the classic game of Life today." He says grinning.

"Well I guess I can deal with that. At least it's not that stupid alien game you made me play last week."

"Hey I thought you said you liked Halo."

"No what I said was Halo doesn't suck as much as Gears of War."

"Ok fine! What movie are we enduring tonight?"

"Well Rachel and I have chosen the endearing and wonderfully sad movie "The Notebook."

"A chick flick? Ok I really am sorry that I made fun of that game Mall Madness last week."

"Hey! It's not a chick flick. Not really. You'll love it!"

When we get to the loft and walk through the door we see Finn standing at the coffee table talking to Rachel who has just come out of the kitchen.

"Finn, it's not a chick flick. It's a perfectly suitable movie for guys and girls."

Blaine laughs beside me and I elbow him in the side.

"Ow." He says doubling over.

"Blaine, did they tell you we are watching that Note movie." Finn says with his arms flailing.

"Yeah, guess we gotta bite the big one over our loud complaints about Mall Madness last weekend."

"FINE! But I'm not going to like this movie." Finn says stalking off to the bedroom.

"I'm just going to go change and then we can start." Blaine says as he places his briefcase on the ground by the door.

An hour later we are all seated around the kitchen table playing Life.

"Yay, a baby girl." Rachel squeals. Finn pouts beside her.

"Yeah whatever! I hope you and Cory are very happy with your 2.5 children and your stupid mansion." Finn is still pouting over the fact that Rachel chose to name her little blue husband peg after her favorite actor Cory Monteith instead of him.

"Oh we will, Cory and I will live happily ever after." She says sticking her tongue out at him.

"Yeah well me and Bernice are doing just fine on our own with our 5 kids."

"Yeah really Finn, I guess someone spent too many nights in the hot tub." I say spitting out my chips and howling.

"OH That's so funny Kurt! HA HA HA!" He sulks. Rachel leans over and kisses him on the cheek and he pulls back quickly.

"OH no you don't. You don't get to touch this." He says gesturing down his body. "This all belongs to Bernice. You have Cory!" Rachel frowns and removes her hand off his leg.

"Fine then. I guess you can sleep in Bernice's bed tonight." She says crossing her arms and winking at me.

"Wait what? Baby you wouldn't make me sleep out on the couch or something would you? I'm just kidding." He says looking worried.

She turns quickly and kisses him on the lips. "What happened to Bernice?" She says pulling away smirking.

"I think she had a thing for Cory and they ran off together." He grins and kisses her again.

"OK enough of this! We don't need anyone making any REAL babies on the kitchen table." I shout as I spin again.

As usual, Blaine finally comes away with the victory and I tell him it's the lawyer in him that allows him to make so much money and win every game we play.

By the time we clean up the game and head to the living room to start the movie, Rachel and Finn are already making out on the couch.

"Enough! There are other people present you two!" I say moving Finn's feet off the coffee table and sitting down next to him on the couch. Blaine sits down on the floor between my legs and leans back on the couch as he starts the movie.

"Dude this movie better not suck!" Finn says as he and Blaine high five each other.

"Baby I'm just preparing you that this is a very sad movie. Do I need to get you tissues?" Rachel giggles.

"I'm a man Rach. I don't need tissues!"

Halfway through the movie I hear Finn lean over and whisper to Rachel. "She's feisty like you are."

She giggles and whispers back, "Their first time was almost as awkward as ours."

He laughs and leans over again, "At least he didn't toss her off the bed onto her ass."

"I CAN HEAR YOU!" I shout.

Before I know it I am covered in a rain shower of popcorn. Blaine laughs and I join him on the floor and rest my head on his shoulder.

"It's a pretty good movie Kurt." He whispers.

"I told you. I hope we end up together forever like Noah and Allie." He says into my ear.

"I hope you still remember me if we do." He laughs.

I feel Blaine reach over and take my hand as the movie is coming to a close and I look up to see tears rolling down Rachel's face and Finn hiding his face with his hand.

"Are you crying baby?" Rachel says looking over at Finn.

"NO! Why would I be crying? I'm not crying." He shouts.

Blaine looks up with tears in his own eyes. "Dude you are totally crying."

"Oh my God of course I'm crying. She remembered him! And then they freaking DIED! What the hell man!" He yells.

"But that's the beautiful part, they died together." Rachel says wiping the tears from Finn's eyes as he pushes off her and gets up from the couch.

"Yeah it's romantic." I say.

"That's horrible! How is that romantic? After all those years of him waiting and waiting for her to remember him after he built her a freaking house and she dies the day she actually knows who he is. That's simply awful!"

"Baby, are you ok?" Rachel says getting up and walking over to Finn.

"No I'm not ok Rachel. Why would you show me that movie? What if that happens to us? It would kill me if you didn't know who I was. I would die if you forgot me."

Rachel reaches up and pulls him into her arms and he hugs her tightly with tears falling from his eyes.

"Jesus Rachel you guys turned me into a freaking girl!" He says wiping his eyes while still holding on to her.

Blaine and I look at each other and burst into laughter. "Well if you forgot me, I'd take care of you." He says softly.

"Awww, I'd take care of you too. So long as you leave me all your money after you become some hot shot famous lawyer!"

"Now see Finn, THAT'S romantic." Blaine says rolling his eyes. Finn looks up and laughs.

"Well at least we choose the movie next week. I'm looking forward to payback!" he says.

"Two can play that game dear brother! I'm seeing a game of Candy Land in your future." I laugh.

"Oh my God I love that game!" He shouts with an innocent smile on his face.


	7. Chapter 7

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 7**

**Rachel POV**

"Rachel, what time did you say you were going to that theater?" I hear Finn yell from the other room.

"6'oclock, that's what time they are going to be there. I just need to meet with the director and then I'm done. My instructor said it won't take long."

"Do you want me to go with you?" he asks walking into the bedroom.

"You can if you want to. I don't know how exciting it's going to be, but you are welcome to join me."

"Cool. I just wanted to hang with you tonight. I promise I won't do anything stupid to embarrass you in front of the director." He says as he makes a face and pulls his jeans up past his hips.

"Finn! Stop it!" I giggle.

"So, what are you doing now?" He asks as he walks over and pulls me down toward the bed.

"Not now Finn, I need to record a video message for Sam and Noah."

"Mmmmm video. You know it's been a while since we…." He leans over and nibbles on my ear lobe.

"Finn, don't distract me. I need to get this video done."

"But baby, we have the house to ourselves. And I'll never get to see you between school and this play." He pouts.

"I haven't even gotten the part yet." I laugh as I try and push him off of me.

"But you are going to get the part because you are Rachel Berry. And then it's just going to be me and Blaine hanging out at 'The Perk' getting hit on by Tiffany." He smirks and runs his hand up my thigh as he kisses down my neck.

"Oh well what a terrible time for you." I whisper as I lean into his embrace.

"It is terrible. What am I going to do on my own Rachel? Unless…." He says pushing my skirt up slightly and tracing the outlines of my panties. "I have something to remember you by."

"Finn! I'll be home every night. It's not like I'm going across the world." I feel him run his hand under my shirt and slowly inch up my back until he reaches the clasp on my bra and unsnaps it. I remember a time when my bra confused the crap out of him. So much has changed since we graduated.

"Come on baby, just one video. No one is going to see it."

"We thought that last time." I say pulling back from him.

"Ok so maybe we screwed that one up by naming it the same thing as the other file, but no one is going to be using our computer anymore. There is no possible way anyone is going to see it." I look up at him and the way he is staring down at me immediately causes a pool between my legs. I'm crazy if I think I'm going to be able to resist him.

I reach for the hem of my shirt and pull it from my body. "Fine, I suppose I can't leave you lonely and thinking of Tiffany."

"YES!" He shouts as he jumps off the bed and runs over to start the camera. "You know how much I love it when you strip for me." He smirks and turns the camera on me.

"Oh you do?" I giggle as I stand up and wiggle my hips and pull the skirt down my legs leaving me in just my black lace panties.

"Oh baby, you have no idea the nights you keep me up just imagining it."

I bend over slightly and begin to pull my panties down as Finn sets the camera on the desk and points it at the bed. "Well I hate keeping you up at night baby, is there anything I can do to make it up to you?"

Finn strips to his boxers and walks into the view of the camera and puts his hands on my hips. "I can think of a lot of ways you can make it up to me Rach." He crashes his lips onto mine and I wrap my leg around his as he backs me up against the bed.

I spin around and push him back on the bed. "Well then, let me see if this is one of the ways you imagined." I reach for the waist band of his boxers and pull them down towards his feet as he lifts his hips and his erection springs free.

I crawl up the bed as I run my hands up his leg causing him to shiver. "Fuck Rach." He says looking up at me.

"Oh you'll get to do that, but I have plans for you first." I slide my hand across his shaft and run my fingers over the tip as I hear him moan and throw his head back against the pillow. Slowly I slide over him and run my tongue up the shaft and start to slide him into my mouth.

"OH God!" He pants as his hands find their way into my hair and I lock eyes with him as I take him further into my mouth. "God baby, so good." He groans.

I feel him hit the back of my throat as his eyes squeeze shut and his head falls back again and a sound leaves his voice that even he won't admit to making. Pleasing Finn this way has become one of my favorite things. I never thought I would be good at giving a blow job, my mouth is a clean well used instrument after all, but the first time I did it, he got so excited just from my lips just touching his penis that he immediately came all over my face. I couldn't believe that just my mouth got him that turned on. Now I find it very pleasing to know that I still get him that excited even after all this time.

"Rach, Fuck, I don't want you to stop, but I really want to finish inside you and you are so going to prevent that if you don't stop!" He pants.

I swirl my tongue around the tip of his penis and let him slide from my mouth. He quickly pulls me up toward him and rolls over on top of me.

"Am I making it up to you?" I giggle.

"Baby, you are so good at that, I should pay you." He says laughing.

"Oh my God Finn!" I say slapping him on the bare ass.

"Ouch, HEY I'm so not into that domino thing." I look up at him confused.

"Domino's? Ohhh Dominatrix." I laugh. He raises his eyebrow and then grins.

"Yeah that! Not gonna happen! Now hush and get back to making it up to me." He smirks.

I lift my legs and wrap them around his waist as he grabs his penis and pushes it up against my entrance and slams into me. "OH FINN!" I pant.

"God Rachel, I love being inside you." He whispers as he leans down and kisses my ear. With every stroke I feel myself getting closer to falling apart and feeling his hot breath against my neck only pushes me further into oblivion.

"Yes Finn, right there." I yell as I feel him hit the spot I'm aching for and he slams back hard inside me as I feel myself tighten and scream out his name. As soon as I start to come down I feel him bite down on my shoulder as his own orgasm takes him and he whispers my name over and over as he comes.

We lie there for a few minutes with him still inside me when he finally lifts his head from my shoulder and looks at me. "I love you so much Rachel. You will never know how much you actually mean to me."

I kiss his nose and down his check as I whisper against his skin, "I love you too Finn, always and forever." He slides out of me and walks over to turn off the tape.

"You wanna shower and then do your video for Sam and Puck?" He asks.

"Sounds like a plan. I don't want to look like I just had sex on the video." I laugh.

After another quickie in the shower and trying to get dressed while Finn kept trying to take my clothes off again, I finally set the camera up to make my video to send to Sam and Noah.

"Would you put on some clothes?" I say to Finn who is still walking around in his boxers.

"Why?" He asks.

"Well if you are going to say hi on this video I think they would prefer you do it with clothes on."

He groans and walks over to put on a shirt. "There, are you happy?"

I look up and laugh. "You are still in your boxers!"

"So? It's not like they are going to see that. They only see the top half so I'm staying half naked!"

"OK OK YOU WIN!" I say giving up.

He sits down beside me and I click on the record button. "Hey guys! It's Rachel and Finn."

"I think they know that Rach, they can see us on the video."

I look over at Finn and give him a disapproving look. "ANYWAY! I miss you both. I hope you guys are doing really well. I'm sure California is beautiful. As you can see from the window behind me, we have a great view of New York from our bedroom. Things are wonderful here and we are all doing really well. Are you guys coming home for Christmas? I think we are. It would be really great if you were there too."

"Yeah, I can't wait to hear all your stories." Finn says beside me.

"Definitely, although I'm sure I don't want to hear some of Noah's stories so you guys can share those on your own. We love you both and can't wait to see you again. Send me back a message or call! You guys don't call me enough!" I pout into the phone.

"Yeah take care you two. Talk to you later." Finn says holding up a peace sign as I sign off.

I save the video and suddenly I hear a knock at the door. Finn looks up at me. "Well I can't get it, I'm not wearing pants!" He grins.

"Ok fine, I'll get it, can you just send the video off for me to Sam's email?" I jump up and head to the door.

"Which one is it?" He yells to me.

"It's the one I just saved Finn."

I open the door and see it's a salesman. I smile fakely while he tries to sell me some encyclopedias as I try and explain to him that we are poor college students who can't afford to buy our own food much less encyclopedias and then remind him that the internet is much cheaper and has more information anyway. He seems offended but he goes away.

"Who was that?" Finn asks behind me as I shut the door.

"Salesman. I wasn't buying." I giggle. "Did you get the video sent?"

"Yep. See I am good for something." He says walking over and picking me up.

"Baby, you are good for a lot of things." I say into his ear and lean back to kiss him.

The door swings open and Kurt and Blaine walk through. "Hey guys, you up for some pizza?"

"Hell yeah!" Finn says grabbing the pizza boxes from Kurt and carrying them to the kitchen.

After dinner Finn and I head to the theater, it turns out the director is actually sick and won't be in until tomorrow, but my instructor has set up an audition with him during my class so I head back out to the car where Finn is waiting. As I reach for the handle to the door my phone rings in my purse.

"Hello, Rachel speaking." I say into the receiver.

"Hey Rachel." I hear Noah sing into the phone.

"Noah! I'm guessing you got my video."

"Oh I got it! It was very….eye opening." He says and I hear Sam laugh out loud in the background.

"Um ok. And why was that?" I ask confused.

"I didn't know Finn wore cookie monster boxers." Noah laughs.

I look over at Finn and he looks confused. "Crap, I didn't think you could see his boxers from under the desk. Sorry about that." Finn's head snaps up.

"Oh you could see them alright. Tell him next time I see him I'm buying him a whole box of dominos."

"Well I don't think he's ever played that…." And then it hits me. Dominos. Dominatrix. I quickly put my hand over the phone.

"Please tell me you sent them the right video Finn!"

"I did. I sent the one on the desktop." OH GOD!

"Finn, I said to send the one I had just saved. The one on the desktop was the one we made EARLIER!" He wrinkles his brow and then his eyes grow wide.

"OH SHIT!"

I hear Noah and Sam laughing in the background. "OK You better delete that video right now!" I yell.

"No way Rach, I had no idea you had that much of an effect on our boy! That video is classic. Years from now we can play it at our reunion."

"NOAH PUCKERMAN YOU PUT SAM ON THE PHONE RIGHT NOW!" I shout.

"Rachel, calm down. We didn't watch the whole thing." Sam says into the receiver.

"HE'S LYING!" I hear Noah yell in the background.

"Oh my God." I say putting my head back on the car seat.

"You two need to learn how to label your sex tapes so that you stop doing this. This one was way worse than that one we all saw at your house over the summer." Sam says quietly into the phone.

"I get it. Thank you! Just delete the video." I say one last time. I hear Noah asking for the phone and then he is on the line.

"Hey don't be embarrassed girl, I'm quite proud of you. Just tell Finn that if he tries to pay you for sex I'm going to kick his ass! My girl ain't no hooker!"

I slam my face on the receiver and groan heavily. "That's it, I'm hanging up now!" I hear them both laughing as I click the call end button.

"Well, I think they enjoyed our video message!" I say looking over at Finn.

"Well yeah! We were freaking rock stars in that video." He says looking up at me and smirking.

"Well that may be true Finn, but next time, can we NOT show our sex tape to all of our friends. I would still like to be able to look some of them in the eye again."


	8. Chapter 8

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 8**

**Blaine POV**

"Well it was definitely a good thing that you found that error Mr. Smith."

"Yes sir, that's what I do. Attention to detail."

From the doorway I can see the boss of the firm talking to that dirtbag mentor of mine. Attention to detail? Is this guy for real?

"Without that receipt we wouldn't have won this case. I'm putting you in for a promotion."

"Oh thank you so much sir."

The receipt? What? That was the error I found. You have got to be kidding me.

I put my head down and go back to reading over the transcripts from the last brief when he walks back in the room.

"Are you finished with those yet?" He asks annoyed.

"No not yet. So it sounds like you impressed the boss?" I ask curiously.

"Oh um yeah, just something I found on a case we were working on. Saved the whole case."

"Oh really, another receipt too? What a coincidence." I say making direct eye contact.

"Just get back to work Blaine before I have to talk to your instructor again."

God I hate this job! I spend the rest of the day going through the briefs while Mr. Smith puts his feet up on the desk and drinks his coffee. I knew that this wasn't going to be an easy job, but working for this jerk is making me question if I even want this career.

When I finally sit down at 'The Perk' with my coffee in hand, I'm almost relieved to be out of there.

"Busy day?" Finn asks from the other side of the couch.

"Terrible. Worst ever. I hate working for this firm."

"Can't you talk to your instructor? Get another exit ship?"

I chuckle and realize that it probably doesn't matter if he knows that the word is externship. Finn has his own way of communicating that is both endearing and childlike. But he's truly becoming one of my best friends. I don't always like telling Kurt about what a terrible day I'm having. Kurt is having his own stress at school so I want to be there for him without adding any other stress. Finn has been an amazing friend to talk to about school.

"They won't' let me. I'm locked in for a year. I can wait and change next year though."

"That sucks." He says sincerely.

"What about you? Any word on what you are going to do with your major?"

"I talked to my instructor. He really wants me to try for the whole music education thing. It just seems like something grown-ups do. I don't think I'm a grown up yet."

Suddenly Tiffany comes running over. "Oh I'm so glad you are both here. I have great news."

We both look at her confused.

"My boss wants One Night Stand." She screams.

"Um wants them to do what?" Finn asks.

"He wants you as the permanent house band, every Friday night." She squeals.

Finn and I both look at each other. We never planned on playing together for more than that one night, but I can see the same look in his eyes that I am sure to have in mine. I felt so alive when we played together. Secretly I've been hoping for another chance at this rock star thing. It's not like you get the chance every day to play in a band. I know it's not the responsible thing to do, but I've spent my whole life doing what I was supposed to do for everyone else. Just this once, I want to do something for me.

"That's crazy." Finn says finally.

"It is crazy." I reply. "But….."

"Kinda cool too?" Finn questions with a smirk.

"What about Kyle?" I ask Finn.

"Oh Kyle already said he was down if you two were." Tiffany chimes in. Finn and I both look up at her shocked.

"I've been dating Kyle for a week now." She grins. So that explains her lack of interest in Finn this week.

"I think we would regret it if we didn't do this Finn." I say smiling over at him.

"What about the Hummelberry of it all?" He questions.

"So we call a loft meeting and we break it to them gently. Big dinner, we clean up, something nice. They gotta see what an opportunity this is for both of us."

"Dude, if you think this is a good idea, then I'm down with it." Finn replies and we walk over to talk to the manager about the details.

Kurt is surprised when I pick him up on a Wednesday for a special dinner but he seems happy to be out of the dorms for a few hours. Finn and I had spent our free period that day setting up the loft and both Rachel and Kurt squeal with delight at the table set up and the vegan lasagna we made.

"This is all so wonderful. Thank you both for doing this." Rachel beams over at Finn.

"Now cut to the chase. Who did you kill?" Kurt says from the other side of the table.

"Kurt, it's very possible they did this because they care about us. They do not have an ultimatum." Rachel says looking between both Finn and I.

"Well I don't know what an ultimatum is, but there is a reason we called this dinner." Finn says.

"Wait, what? What have you done Finn?" Rachel shouts.

"Oh, how quickly your tone changes." Kurt laughs.

"Ok calm down you two. It's not a big deal." I say trying to calm the situation.

"Then explain it now." Kurt says quickly.

"We've got another gig at 'The Perk'" I announce.

"Isn't that awesome?" Finn shouts.

Rachel and Kurt both look at each other. "So the house band cancelled again? That's not really reliable entertainment." Rachel says.

"No they aren't reliable. That's why they are hiring another band." I say looking over at Finn.

"Well that's good. At least then you can both stop covering for these stupid bands and get back to work." Kurt says biting back into his food.

"Uh yeah about that…." Finn starts.

"No. You didn't." Rachel says dropping her fork.

"It's a great opportunity Rach." Finn pleads.

"You're the new house band?" Kurt shouts.

"It was too good to pass up Kurt. We get extra cash on the side, we get to play on Friday nights, it's an amazing opportunity."

"Yeah he already said that." Kurt says pointing over at Finn.

"It's just Friday nights." Finn says leaning over to Rachel.

"What about your career Finn? Are you going to be a rock star now? Did you just give up actually getting a major and finding out what job you want?" Rachel yells as she gets up from the table and throws her napkin on the plate.

"I'm not ready to work a 9-5 job Rach. It's just not me. I want to do this. I want to be young for as long as I can." Finn pleads.

"Oh well excuse me for asking you to make something of your life. I'm so sorry if you feel like that means I'm putting too much responsibility on you."

"That's not fair. You're going to school so you can sing for a living. How is this different?"

"You think that is all I do is sing?" She shouts stepping back. This is getting bad. I feel like I need to do something to stop it but I don't know what to say that isn't going to make this worse.

"I never said it was all you do. But that's what you do. YOU SING! So I play drums. What the hell is wrong with that?" He yells.

Rachel turns to walk out of the room. "Well you aren't doing this."

"Too bad. We already said we would. So you are going to have to get over this." Finn turns and storms out of the kitchen and I hear the front door slam. Rachel stomps off and slams the bedroom door leaving Kurt and I sitting alone at the table.

"Well….that was awkward." I say.

"Don't try and play cool with me. I'm mad at you. You took this gig without even talking to me. What are you going to do about all your work at the firm? This isn't just a part time thing. Before you know it the band is going to take over everything you do. Did you think about that?" He says.

"Kurt, it's just for fun. It's just Friday nights. Please, I'm asking you to support me."

"Well you can do it on your own. I'm not coming."

"Kurt!" I shout after him. But the door slams and I know that he is done talking for the night.

When Finn finally comes back in I am sitting at the table still.

"Well that went over like a brick balloon." Finn says slamming down into the chair.

"Lead." I say.

"Lead what?" He asks confused.

"Nevermind. Look they will get over it. We just have to do our thing and hope that in the end they support us."

"Yeah, well I'm going back to see if she will talk to me. Wish me luck."

Turns out he needed more than luck because when Friday rolls around Rachel still isn't talking to Finn. Kurt won't return my phone calls so Finn and I have spent the last two days rehearsing with Kyle at his house. When we get to 'The Perk' to set up the place is packed.

"Damn, there are more people here today than the last time we played." Kyle says as we plug in the equipment.

"Still no word from Rachel." Finn says looking down at his phone.

"Yeah, Kurt's been silent too." I say.

We complete our sound check and wait for Tiffany to introduce us. Before we go on I see Kurt walk in the front door.

"Hey." He says walking over to me.

"Hey. I'm glad you came." I smile over at him.

"Well, I realized I need to support you. If this is what you want to do, then I'll be here." He reaches over and pulls me in to a hug.

"Hey, is Rach with you?" Finn says from behind me.

"Yeah, I tried Finn. But she wouldn't budge. I'll call her and see if I can change her mind." He walks over to his seat and pulls out his cell phone as we take the stage.

The show was a raging success. The more we play together the better we get. We've even started working on some songs together that we are writing. It's crazy really, but I totally need this in my life right now. It's the only thing keeping me sane from all the other crap at school.

When we finally finish our second encore the house clears out and the manager comes over to give us our pay for the evening. I look over and see Finn looking around the room.

"She didn't come then?" I ask him.

"No. She won't respond to my texts either. She's really mad." He says concerned.

Kurt walks over to us. "Sorry Finn, I tried. She's not listening to me."

"Crap. I'll go home and talk to her again. I just wish she could understand why I'm doing this."

"Yeah I wouldn't talk to her tonight." Kurt says frowning. He holds up his cellphone to him and Finn reads the text and groans loudly.

I look over at the phone. _'Tell him not to bother coming in. He can sleep on the couch tonight! R'_

"Ouch!" I say patting him on the shoulder. He groans and puts his hands in his hair.

"I'm screwed. She's never going to talk to me again."

"Just give her time Finn. You know Rachel. She's a diva and she needs to vent." Kurt says smiling at him.

"Yeah but in the meantime I get to find out how it feels to sleep on the couch."

"Well you asked for it!" I laugh. "The life of a rockstar!"


	9. Chapter 9

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 9**

**Finn POV**

It's been four days. Four long back breaking days of sleeping on the couch. Rachel is still not talking to me either. Not even a hello. When she enters the room and sees me she turns quickly and finds another room. I've tried talking to her; I've tried begging her to talk to me, and nothing. After the second day I decided I was sick of this crap. If she wants to play the silent treatment game, then let's play. Game on Rachel Berry.

But then I realized that she's way better at this game than I am. I tried not speaking to her when we were getting ready in the bathroom but then she took off her top and I couldn't concentrate anymore and ended up blubbering like an idiot when I asked her to pass me the toothbrush and then I put shampoo on it and brushed my teeth. It took me hours to get the taste out. Then I tried to ignore her when I was getting my clothes out of the dresser but she took off her shorts which were hiding a new pair of sexy panties I had never seen before and my mouth went dry and I slammed my hand in the drawer. Rachel plays the silent game dirty.

We've been driving to school in complete silence every morning as we fight over which channel to listen to by changing it every thirty seconds. So yesterday when my instructor advised we would not be having class I announced to an empty room that I was not driving in to school the next morning and if anyone wanted to go to school they should take the damn truck and drive themselves. I knew Rachel was in the bedroom so I yelled it loud enough so she would hear me. Blaine came out of his room startled.

"Um, why are you yelling to an empty room?"

"Because it's the only way I can talk to HER!" I yell pointing to the bedroom.

"Ok you two need to talk already. This is getting old." He says sighing.

"Tell that to the princess holding fort in OUR bedroom." I yell again.

I hear the bathroom door slam in our room and I throw myself down on the couch frustrated.

I don't know when I feel asleep but I know it was late. I tried to stay up and watch some skinemax because REALLY it's been four damn days and Rachel is dressing pretty damn sexy every day! I was woken up by a really loud sound and I realize it was Rachel slamming the front door of the loft as she left for school. I drag myself up from the couch and walk back to the bedroom. I slide myself into the bed and sigh in complete comfort as my head hits the pillow. Oh bed how much I have missed you!

When I wake up again I realize I have slept for probably the best two hours of my life. I roll over and look out the window. Fuck! How did everything get so messed up? Why is she so angry? I reach in the table on her side of the bed and feel around for the leather bound book. I pull out the diary and flip to the back. Maybe she wrote in it recently. But I see that her last entry was back in high school. I flip the book open to the middle and read an entry.

'_Dear Diary,_

_My life is over. I have hurt the only person I have ever really loved more than anything. More than singing. More than New York. I cheated on Finn. I was so hurt and upset with him when I found out he slept with Santana, that I wanted him to feel actual pain. How could he choose her over me? Why would he sleep with that slut? So I kissed Noah. It was so stupid and I knew the whole time that it was wrong. It was so wrong….'_

I quickly turn the page. If I'm trying not to be mad at Rachel, that sure isn't the way to do it. I flip a few more pages and read another entry.

'_Dear Diary,_

_I miss Finn. My heart breaks every single time I see him. I love him so much. But I don't think he loves me anymore. He's back with Quinn. Of all people. I cry myself to sleep at night. I feel like I'm dying without him. Like my dream of having him will never come true again. I write him text messages but never send them. I write long emails and make videos for him but never post them. It's weird. I know when he's around. I don't know if it's the way I've memorized his scent, or the fact that I always have this way of finding him in a crowded room, but I still feel him near me. Sometimes I swear he's looking at me, but why would he be when he has her now. I hate being away from him knowing that I am the reason he's not near me. When I know it's all my fault and there is nothing I can do or say to fix things. We should be happy together but instead we are playing this game where we pretend that everything is fine. I pretend that I am ok with being friends when I'm really not. Being away from Finn Hudson is like having my heart ripped out. I miss Finn._

_Rachel ='(_

Shit. I know I'm crying. And I know that I feel the same way she did. Being away from Rachel is like having your heart ripped out. I don't ever want to go back to a time when I didn't have her. I remember what it was like back then. Feeling like I had to be ok in front of her when really I was in misery. I can't do this again. I grab my cell phone and quickly send her a text.

'_Rach, we need to talk. Now. F'_

It doesn't take long, maybe a minute before my phone buzzes with her response.

'_Fine. Be home soon. R'_

I turn a few more pages in her diary while I wait.

'_Dear Diary,_

_I'm going to New York. I love it there. I know that Finn will probably never come, but I have to do it. This is my dream. I know in my heart that I am meant to do something amazing. I just have to try really hard. It means so much to me for this to work. I have to make something of my life. My dad's worked really hard to get me everything I needed to make something of myself and I'm not going to let them down. I don't have time to play or mess around. If you want something you have to work hard for it and I'm going to do that until I achieve it. I don't understand how some people can have a gift and not perfect it. What is the point of being good at something if you don't take a chance and see if you can be the best at it?_

_Rachel'_

I hear the door slam shut and I know it's her.

"I'm back here." I yell.

I see her coming down the hall and she stands in the doorway. "Talk." She says simply.

"WE need to talk about this Rachel. I'm not going away, you can't ignore me forever."

"Just go play Finn. You don't need me." She says walking in the room and sitting at the desk.

"Just stop. You are really out of line Rachel." I say raising my voice.

"Don't you yell at me Finn Hudson." She says starting to stand up.

"NO! You are being ridiculous. You want to be a singer! I want to play drums. There isn't a difference, don't be a hippogriff!"

"HYPOCRIT!" She yells! "IT'S HYPOCRIT FINN!"

"What do you feel when you sing?" I shout.

"What?" She asks shocked.

"When you sing, how do you feel?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Just answer me!"

"I FEEL HAPPY!" She shouts.

"Well when I play the drums, I feel free Rach."

"It's not the same." She says shortly.

"That's not fair; you are acting like a child."

"You are the one being a child Finn! Giving up on a real career for what?"

"That's not what I'm doing, but you aren't listening to me!"

"I am listening; you are only doing this band thing so you don't have to grow up!" She shouts.

"See you aren't listening; all I'm asking is for you to support me. Nothing else. Why can't you just support me and what I want?"

"I do support you!" She yells.

"You are acting like what I care about doesn't matter!" I yell back at her.

"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" She yells.

"I love you! And I support you no matter what you do. No matter what you want. If you wanted to join the damn circus Rachel, I would buy some cotton candy and sit in the front row and cheer you on!"

She gets up to walk out of the room and I stand in the doorway.

"This is stupid!" She says pushing past me. I grab her by the arm and pull her back toward me.

"I do whatever you want me to do Rachel. But I'm going to do this for myself."

"Do whatever you want!" She shouts in my face and I walk toward her as she back up into the door frame.

"I don't want to do this without you dammit!" I holler at her as her back makes contact with the door.

"What does it matter, you already said you are going to do it anyway." She says as she pushes her hands against my chest and shoves me back from her. I reach down and grab her hands and close the distance between us leaning over so that I'm level with her face.

"This matters Rachel, you and me. You can yell and scream and hate me all you want, but in the end it's you and me."

"I can't do this Finn." She says trying to move away from me but I don't move and I don't let her push past me.

"You don't get to make this decision Rachel. It's my decision. But I still need you." I lean over and quickly attach my lips to hers and she squeals as I make contact with her mouth. She shoves me backwards and I stand up looking down at her. Tears are streaming down her face and I reach over to wipe the tears as they fall.

"I miss you. My heart misses you." I whisper.

"Finn…" She says quietly.

"What is the point of being good at something if you don't take a chance and see if you can be the best at it?" I say it so quietly that I'm not even sure she hears me until her head jerks up and she is staring at me. I don't even care if we are fighting anymore. I just need her so badly. I lean over and take her lips on mine again and this time she doesn't fight me. I quickly pick her up and carry her over to the bed and we both tumble over onto the mattress.

Without even stopping to undress her I lift her skirt and run my hands up her thigh reaching for her panties and sliding them down her legs. I feel her hands quickly pushing my sweats down until I feel my erection spring free and I settle between her legs and push into her in one move. She moans loudly and pulls my face to hers.

"I missed you so much." She moans as she stares into my eyes. "I'm so sorr..."

I don't even let her finish before I smash my lips to hers and bury myself inside her once again until our rhythm is in complete unison. My body has missed her so much and I can feel from the way that she is clawing at my back that she feels the same way. I kiss her cheek and feel the tears falling down them as her lips find mine again and she kisses me with such passion that I have to catch my breath.

It's quick and it's messy but it's everything I need. Just feeling her skin touching mine as our sweat mixes together and our bodies slide off of each other. Feeling her lips on my neck and my cheek. The feel of being inside of her, of being one with her is everything I need. Rachel and Finn, Finn and Rachel and you can't tell where I begin and she ends. It's all I ever need and it's the only thing that makes sense sometimes. Even when I'm mad, or upset, or disappointed in her, being this close to her changes everything. I need her. I always need her.

"I love you." I whisper in her ear as I grasp her hand and bury myself in her one last time.

She's panting when I finally slide off of her and she reaches over and touches my cheek. "I love you too."

I take her hand and kiss it. "Baby, you have to know that I'm not giving up on my future. But I have to do this. I have to try, to take this chance on an opportunity that I may never get again."

"If you really feel like this is something that is calling you, then you have to do it. And I'll be there to support you." She says quietly.

"Thank you. I can't do it without you." I stroke her cheek and she smiles at me.

"I'll be your number one fan." She giggles.

"I'm still changing my major." I announce suddenly.

"What?" she says surprised.

"I told you I'm not giving up on my future. I want to be a music teacher. I want to inspire kids. I can work toward that while I'm performing. And I can make some money and help pay for college. I can do both Rachel. I just need you to believe in me."

"Finn, I never stopped believing in you. I just….." She looks down and frowns. "I just don't always know what it's like to be able to focus on anything but one dream. I want to be a singer, and that's all I know to do."

"That's not true. You focus on me. Every single day. You make sure I get up for school; you make sure I don't forget to change my underwear, even though I find it annoying that you know when I haven't. You make sure I eat well, that I do my homework. You take care of me. You take care of us. And you still do amazing at school. You do more than you realize."

"I take care of you because I love you. Because I want to be with you."

"Because it was a dream to be with me?" I say pointing to her diary. "And now we've shown that you can focus on more than one dream." I smirk.

"You need to stop learning so much about me in that diary Finn. I hate having my own words turned on me." She laughs.

"Well you ARE usually right so on the small chance that you are wrong, who better to argue your point than yourself." I say winking at her. She rolls her eyes and giggles. "SO, my number one fan huh?" I say leaning over and pulling her toward me.

"Oh yes, I'll be at all of your shows, in the front row. Watching my hot sexy drummer."

"Hot AND sexy huh? So you will kinda be like my first groupie?" I laugh.

"Finn Hudson, I had better be your ONLY groupie!" She says as she rolls over on top of me tickling my sides.

"Ok, ok, how about I let you be the president of my fan club." I say as I raise my eyebrows.

"President huh? Do I get special benefits?" She says leaning over to nibble on my earlobe.

"OH yeah! You get special benefits alright. Personal access to one Finn Hudson with VIP treatment after each show."

She squeals and rubs herself against my growing erection.

"And what exactly do I get with this VIP treatment?"

"Any damn thing you want!" I say rolling her over and sliding into her once again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 10**

**Kurt POV**

"So you would get here the day before Thanksgiving which gives us time to make a nice dinner for Thanksgiving for all of you." My dad has been making plans all day and trying to get us to commit to them. I ask him to hold on and yell for Finn.

"Yeah what's up?"

"Dad wants a definite answer."

"Yeah we're cool. I talked to Bill at 'The Perk' and One Night Stand is off until the New Year's Eve event so we can go home."

"Ok dad, Finn says we are definitely a go, so we will be home the day before Thanksgiving."

I finally hang up with him and quickly get dressed and walk over to the next room to find Rachel. "I'm coming in, please be dressed!" I holler into the room.

I see Finn and Rachel on the bed. Rachel has her head on his chest and they are both laughing. "Darn we didn't get our clothes off fast enough Rach." Finn says.

"HAHA!" I laugh. "You ready to go yet Diva?"

"You sure you don't want me to go with you?" Finn asks her.

"No baby, you have band practice and Kurt will be my support so it's perfectly fine." She leans over and kisses him and he grabs her and pulls her back down on him.

"Ok enough you two. She has to get to the theater and pick up her script. Do you want her to claim her starring role or not?"

Finn groans. "Fine! You can have her…for now!" He slaps her on the butt as she gets up. "But you are mine tonight." He says winking at her.

"Gross." I say as I turn from the room and head to the front door.

We get in the cab and head out to the theater where Rachel has gotten the starring role in 'Peter Pan the Musical' as Wendy. She has a meeting with the assistant director to pick up her script and get final approval from the director. We head into the theater and are greeted by a short blonde guy at the entrance. "You must be my Wendy?" he says opening the door.

"Excuse me." Rachel says.

"Oh sorry, I'm Bill. I'm playing Peter. Are you Rachel?"

"Oh yes, yes I'm Rachel. So nice to finally meet you." She holds her hand out and he shakes it. He gets all giddy and hugs her. Yeah he plays for my team alright.

"And who would you be?" He says turning to me.

"Oh um, I'm Kurt, Rachel's um…roommate."

"Darn. Another straight one." He says turning around quickly. Rachel looks at me and giggles and yanks me through the door.

"I just got my script, the director, Tom is in the next room. Just head in and see him and then you can meet with the Assistance douche bag after that."

"Um excuse me?" Rachel asks turning to face Bill.

"The assistant director is a jerk. Sure his hair is pretty, but he acts like a real…..piece of work."

Rachel smiles and heads in to see the director. "Sooo, you get to play Peter Pan. Must be…interesting."

"Oh you mean the tights. Yeah it's embarrassing, but what do I have to hide anyway. Besides the guys love it when I wear them." OH LORD!

"Oh I bet." I say raising my eye brows and hoping and wishing that Rachel would hurry up. "So the assistant? What's his deal?"

"I think he's one of those types who failed at his own career so he's out to ruin everyone else's. I swear the dude NEVER smiles!"

"Well he sounds like a joy."

Rachel comes bouncing out of the room at that moment. "I'm all approved. I just need to find this assistant guy, James."

"Oh his name isn't James. In fact, if you call him that he will insist on your calling him SAINT!"

"Excuse me?" Rachel asks confused.

"ST JAMES. He's so full of himself."

I look at Rachel and she seems to be panicking. "His name wouldn't happen to be…."

"RACHEL?" We hear the voice from behind us and we both turn quickly towards him.

"JESSE?" We both say loudly.

"Well, well, well. What a surprise. I must say I never expected you to show up here with him. I always thought you were gay?" He says looking me up and down.

"Excuse me?" Rachel says again.

"Oh I just thought you and Kevin, or Kurt was it?" I nod. "I thought you and Kurt were together or something."

"No. I'm her roommate, thank you very much. I happen to be here living with my own boyfriend." I don't know why I'm getting angry but this guy just pisses me off.

"You're the assistant director?" Rachel asks.

"Yes I am. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised when I saw your name on the roster. I highly recommended you. I hope you don't let me down."

"Don't you worry about me Jesse. I can take care of myself!" She says loudly.

"Oh I'm sure you can. I bet you have done a really good job of taking care of yourself all alone in New York City."

"I'm not alone. Finn is here with me. Well not right at this moment, but he's living here in New York with me."

"Oh wow. I would have thought he would be wandering lost in Lima still. I never took him for finding his way to an actual city, much less this one."

"Finn is doing just fine I'll have you know. He's in a band."

Jesse breaks out into laughter. "You poor thing. I hope he isn't singing. I can't imagine the band getting very far on that wail of his."

"I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW MY BOYFRIEND IS THE SINGER!" I yell at him unsure why I'm letting him get to me too.

"Wow. It's just the family affair. And do you play the flute in this band or is it just the two of them doing a jig on their own?" he says laughing at me.

"That's enough Jesse. Finn is doing very well and that is all you need to know as it really is none of your business." Rachel says stomping her foot.

"Ok ok, don't go getting all upset. I hate to see my star talent stressed. Let me grab your script and get you on your way back home to Huckleberry Finn."

He goes into his office and comes back out with the script and hands it to Rachel. "I hope Finn will be able to deal with your heavy rehearsal schedule. I know how much he loves the holidays and with the play running until the day after Thanksgiving, you might not see him much."

Rachel looks over at me nervously and then turns back to Jesse. "Don't you worry about Finn and I, we support each other and will be JUST FINE!" She turns and grabs my arm and we march out of the theater.

"Well crap. Finn is going to freak out!" Rachel says as the door closes behind us.

"What are you going to tell him about Jesse?" I ask.

"The truth. I didn't know he was going to be there. I'll just tell him. Finn's a big boy."

"And what are you going to do about the holidays?" I look over and she is frowning.

"I'll just have to join you after Thanksgiving. I know it sucks, but Finn will understand."

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Finn yells after Rachel tells him the news. "Why do they have a play ON Thanksgiving? That's stupid."

"I know. But it's just how the play works Finn. I'm sorry; at least I will get to be home with you for Christmas."

"Yeah I guess. I mean it could be worse. It's not like your Peter Pan is some hot dude waiting to steal you from me. Kurt told me he's totally gay."

Rachel smiles but it falls from her face quickly. "About that."

"What? He's not gay. Oh God he's hot isn't he?" Rachel nods her head back and forth. "He's taller than me; crap is he smarter than me? Wait, do you have to kiss him?"

"Finn, it's not about Bill. It's about the assistant director." Rachel says quietly.

"He's hot too?"

"No, no its' just that…..well. It's Jesse." Rachel says quickly.

"Sorry Rachel, I think my ears are clogged. I thought you said JESSE! As in St. Jackass."

"I did." She says frowning.

"No way Rach. No way are you going to spend all this time with Jesse. No way am I letting him spend Thanksgiving with you when I'm not. No! I'll just stay here with you for Thanksgiving." He yells.

"Finn, you need to go home and be with your mom. I'll be fine. It's not like I'll be spending it WITH Jesse. I'll be in a play. I'll be performing. He's not even IN the play."

"I don't like it." He says crossing his arms and frowning.

"I don't like it either. But I want this chance. It's a big opportunity for me Finn."

He looks over at me and I shrug.

"Fine, but I'm not going to like it. And I'm going over there with you for your first rehearsal tomorrow. I want to make sure that jackass remembers me."

"Oh he remembers you Finn. Trust me, Rachel told him you were here too." I say and Finn looks over at Rachel and grins.

"GOOD!" he shouts.

"Now can we just forget all this and let the Klainchel Game night begin already?" I announce.

"Fine fine, what is our game for tonight?" Finn asks standing up from the table and walking into the living room. Rachel and I look at each other and grin.

"It's going to be awesome." She says smiling. "Dance Dance Revolution: Disney version!"

Finn groans loudly. "WHAT? A dancing game? Are you guys trying to kill me tonight?"

Blaine laughs loudly from the couch. "This is going to be interesting."

"Finn's first." Rachel announces loudly.

"Why, why am I first Rach? Do you just want to make fun of me?"

"Come on, we can battle." She winks and swings at his butt and he grabs her around the waist and pulls her over to him and kisses her.

"You are so lucky I'm in love with you." He whispers quietly.

"Yeah I know." She giggles.

Blaine and I sit on the couch and watch as Finn tries to figure out where to put his feet and at one point misses the mat completely and falls flat on his butt.

"What is that move called Hudson?" Blaine yells.

"It's called the get-up-here-and-do-it-better-Anderson"

Blaine jumps up and takes the remote and Rachel and Blaine battle it out as Blaine ultimately wins and Rachel pouts in Finn's waiting arms.

"How's that for better?" Blaine says bowing.

"Ok enough of this! I want to watch our movie!" Finn pouts.

"Sore loser!" I shout at him.

"That's not the only part of me that's sore." He says rubbing his behind.

"I'll help you with that later." Rachel giggles in his lap.

"Ok before they start going at it like rabbits, what's the movie?"

"HARRY POTTER!" Blaine yells.

Rachel and I both groan. "Seriously? Didn't we watch that one two weeks ago?"

"We watched Half Blood Prince. That's a different one. We are watching The Deathly Hallows tonight."

"YAY!" I mock.

"Stop pouting Kurt. You love when I act out all the scenes." Blaine nudges my shoulder and winks at me.

Rachel and I look over at each other and laugh as Blaine stands up and gets on the coffee table and poses.

"Oh Harry!" Finn squeaks out standing up and holding out his hands to Blaine.

"Hermoine! Oh Hermoine!" Blaine says reaching his hands toward Finn.

Rachel throws a pillow at them both and Finn bursts into laughter and walks over and sits next to her. Blaine and I sit in our usual spot at the foot of the couch and I lean up against his chest.

"Alright, let's go to Hogwarts!" I exclaim.

"See that's the spirit Kurt!" Blaine says leaning over to kiss my cheek.

"Hurray for Hogwarts!" Rachel giggles as Finn leans over and kisses her.


	11. Chapter 11

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 11**

**Rachel POV**

My stomach is actually in knots as we pull up to the theater for the first day of rehearsal. I know it's not a big play, but it's my first starring role. Of course finding out that Jesse was going to be the assistant director kind of put a downside on the whole thing, but it's only running for a few weeks and then he will be back out of my life for good.

"What time do you have to be in there?" Finn asks from beside me.

"In about ten minutes. I just need to go in and put my stuff away. I'll show you where you can sit to watch the rehearsal."

"Don't worry about me; I'll just be looking around."

"Finn…" I say concerned.

"What? It's not like I'm going to go find him and beat the crap out of him or anything. I just want to talk to him."

"It's not a good idea. Besides I'm sure he's busy with the play."

We walk in to the theater together and he reaches out and grabs my hand and pulls me toward him.

"Finn, I said I needed to get…." I look over and see Jesse coming out of his office and Finn's grip on my hand tightens.

"Well, I didn't realize you would be brining someone on the first day to rehearsal." Jesse says looking past Finn and walking directly toward me.

"Well he's not just anyone, and I already ok'd it with the director." I say quickly.

"Oh I wasn't going to yell at you Rachel. But I can imagine that Finn would be pretty bored with all this technical stuff."

"Standing right here!" Finn says looking directly at Jesse. "And I'll be just fine! But thanks so much for your concern for me."

I smile over at Finn who is still staring intently at Jesse.

"So Finn, you found your way out of Lima. Must say I'm pretty surprised, I figured you would already have some little blonde baby running around your front yard in diapers by now."

I feel Finn tense beside me.

"Nah, my life is with Rachel."

"How sweet of you to give up what you love for Rachel. The city must be so strange for you."

"I survive pretty well actually."

"Yes, Rachel told me about your little band." Jesse says laughing slightly.

"Well it's just something I do for fun. I'm trying to focus on my career right now. And being there to support Rachel in any way she needs me." Finn says leaning over and wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I find myself smiling at how protective he is being. It's adorable when Finn takes care of me.

"Well I don't think Rachel needs much from anyone but herself. Depending on others only leads to disappointment. Right Rachel?" Jesse says turning toward me.

"Actually I find it kind of tiring to only depend on myself. I don't know where I would be without Finn." I say smiling up at Finn. "Now I need to go drop my stuff off and get ready for rehearsal. Excuse me."

I walk away from the two of them and turn the corner toward my dressing room as I hear Finn talking.

"And by the way, if you even look at her wrong, totally kicking your ass this time." I hear Finn say.

Jesse laughs "Gonna be hard for you to do from Lima don't you think? I hear I've got her all to myself for Thanksgiving. I would hate for her to spend it alone." I start to walk back toward them and I see Finn lean over so that he is towering over Jesse.

"Ok look I know what I said, but I really don't want to kick your ass because Rachel hates violence, but trust me when I tell you that you can't do anything to ruin my relationship with Rachel. You can try, but it won't matter. Rachel and I are solid. So out of respect for her I'm not going to hit you right now." I see Jesse flinch. "But let's not make this whole talking thing a habit between us, because I can only hold back for small periods of time around you. Enjoy your play Jesse." Finn turns and walks toward the auditorium and Jesse walks back toward his office with a frown on his face.

I head back to my dressing room smiling inside. My boyfriend really is all kinds of awesome.

"You ready Ms. Berry?" I hear Billy say from outside my dressing room. I open the door and smile.

"Billy dear, I'm ready as I ever will be. And how is my sweet Peter today?" I giggle and pinch his cheeks.

"I'm doing awesome. But have you seen that tall drink of water in the auditorium. Holy God he's hot."

"Excuse me?" I ask confused.

"When you see him, you'll know who I'm talking about. Six feet plus, reaching to heavens, eyes like chocolate and built like something I'd like to test drive." We walk into the auditorium and he points toward Finn. I giggle loudly.

"Yeah sorry, but that one has already been taken for a test drive and I'm not giving him back."

"Dammit he's yours? You sure know how to reel in the big ones my dear." He laughs and walks out onto the stage as I wave to Finn and take my place to begin rehearsal.

Throughout the entire rehearsal Jesse was in a terrible mood. Screaming out that we weren't saying our lines correctly or were out of position on stage. Sure it wasn't much different than his normal mood but I could see him glance in Finn's direction every time he would yell at me for doing something wrong.

"Dude it's our first day, don't you think you are being a bit hard?" Bill says after he is scolded for the fourth time for saying "Off to Neverland" in the wrong tone.

"Do you want this play to be the best or do you just want to do something people forget?" Jesse yells. "Take five! I need a cigarette."

I start to climb down from the stage and see Finn jump up and run over to help me down. "Thanks babe." I say as I lean down to kiss him as he picks me up from the stage and places me down on the ground.

"This play is brutal. I thought this was a kid's production. Jesse is running you guys into the ground."

"And I'm sure that had nothing to do with any pep talk you might have given him earlier right?" I giggle.

"What could you possibly mean? Besides, I said I wouldn't hit him, you never said I couldn't talk to him." He says winking at me.

The rest of rehearsal was pretty much the same with Jesse barking out our mistakes and sighing about how we needed extra rehearsals just to get things right. Luckily the director stopped by and told us how happy he was with our progress for the first day and Jesse seemed to remain quiet opting to return to his office for the rest of rehearsal.

As I'm packing up to leave Bill walks into my dressing room. "Ok introduce me now Berry."

I look up and he's standing next to Finn and biting his lip. "Ok Billy, relax and remember he's taken." I giggle and look over at Finn who is staring at me uncomfortably. "Bill this is Finn."

"Hey dude, nice to meet you. You did a good job up there. I'm a huge fan of Peter Pan." Finn says holding out his hand.

Bill grabs his hand and shakes it. "It's the tights right? Everyone loves the tights."

"Uh not really a green tights kinda dude, it was the not growing up part that was cool." Finn laughs uncomfortably.

Bill sighs disappointed. "Well I guess they can't all be fabulous like me." He smiles up at Finn once more and heads for the door. "Don't be a stranger; we all need someone out in the audience to keep us motivated." He waves and walks out the door.

"Uh he means for me to motivate YOU right?" Finn questions.

"I wouldn't count on that." I giggle.

"What it with me and gay dudes?"

"Well it's not your fault you were born this hot." I say as I walk over and run my hands up his chest. "Personally I blame your mother." I lean up and kiss him on the lips as he leans down and lifts me off the ground.

"I'll have to tell her that when I see her." He laughs in my ear.

"Was she upset I'm not coming for Thanksgiving?" I ask as he sets my feet back on the ground.

"Nah, she was sad, but she was really happy you got this part. She's sad she's going to miss your first starring role."

"Finn, it's a musical about Peter Pan for kids. It's not like I'm on Broadway." I start gathering up my stuff to leave and I feel him walk up behind me.

"I don't care what you do, you're still a star and you're only going to get brighter and brighter with every role until you shine so brightly that you will own this town the same way you own my heart."

I turn around quickly and capture his lips with mine. "I love you so much Finn Hudson. The way you believe in me, the way you support me, I'm the luckiest girl in the world."

He throws his head back and laughs, "Yeah, well don't you forget it babe. I'm quite the catch, or so I've been told." He winks and kisses me again.

We head out toward the car and I see Jesse getting into a cab outside the theater. He looks over at me and frowns. Finn quickly raises his hand and waves to him. I grab his hand and pull it back down. "Now you are just being juvenile." I laugh.

"What?" He smirks. "Can't a guy say goodbye. I'm just being….what's that word you use when you are being nice to someone you don't like?"

"Civil?"

"Yeah, I'm just being civil babe." He laughs as he opens my car door and I climb into my seat.

"So, Central Park?" He asks.

"That sounds lovely." I grin staring over at him. "Oh I heard from Sam, they are coming home for the holidays too. They weren't happy I wasn't going to be there for Thanksgiving, but they are staying for Christmas so at least I get to see them."

"That's cool. I'll tell mom to set two more plates then."

"Are you sure you are ok with me not coming for Thanksgiving?"

"Baby, I'm not happy about it because I would rather share it with you, but I understand why you won't be there. As long as I get you for Christmas, I think I can share you with the world for a day. I'm sure I'm going to have to get used to sharing you anyway once you are famous."

I laugh loudly. "Well don't go worrying about that just yet. I may be the one having to share soon after One night Stand plays for New Year's Eve. All the girls are going to be knocking me over to get to that hot drummer."

He parks the car and looks at me. "Yeah well I have it on good authority that the drummer only has eyes for one girl." He leans over and smiles at me.

"Oh really, pretty lucky girl then." I giggle.

"Yeah I hear he's pretty much in love with you or something."

"Me? Oh my! Well since you seem to know him so well, maybe you can introduce us." I giggle.

"I think I can pull some strings." He grabs me around the back of the neck and pulls me against his mouth and even after all these years I still feel the hairs on my arm stand up and my heart flutters and the world stands still just from one kiss. As much as I want the fame and the feeling of standing on the stage singing my heart out in front of a packed audience, nothing will ever beat this feeling of being held, of being loved, of being part of something special with Finn.

"I love you Finn." I whisper in his ear.

"I love you too babe. You'll always be my star." I lean back and look up at him.

"And you'll always be my hot drummer." I giggle as he kisses my neck.

"Yeah I've known that since 10th grade." He grins.

"What?" I ask confused.

"You said it in that song we did for sectionals. 'My hearts a drummer.' I pretty much knew from that day on that I needed it to be me." He leans over and kisses me one more time as I bring my lips to his ear and whisper.

"It's always been you."


	12. Chapter 12

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 12**

**Blaine POV**

"So Tiffany and Rachel together huh? Do you think that's a smart idea?" I look over toward where Rachel is sitting by herself on Kyle's couch and Tiffany is getting drinks together from the small kitchenette in the basement.

"Yeah I'm sure it's fine. I mean she's with Kyle now." Finn says setting down his drum kit in the corner.

"Alright. It's your funeral if they get into it though." I laugh.

"Like a cat fight? Because honestly I wouldn't mind seeing Rachel fight another chick over me." He smirks.

I laugh as Kyle comes down from his room with his guitar strapped to his shoulder. "YO Dudes let's rock and roll." He yells.

Kurt walks down the stairs behind Kyle and laughs as Kyle starts grinding out keys on his guitar.

"Well I guess it's time to practice." I shrug.

"Ok babe, though it's really cruel that you have left Rachel and I with the ditzy blonde. Do you know she has asked Rachel if it's true that tall men have big dicks about twelve times now! I wouldn't be shocked if Rachel kills her before the end of the night."

"Yeah well, Tiffany is kind of an acquired taste I guess."

"I sure hope you haven't licked her." Kurt says raising his eyebrows and stepping back.

"Um no, it's a figure of speech Kurt." I say laughing loudly.

"Who are we licking?" Finn says confused behind me.

"Oh Lord! No one is licking anyone. Dear God. Let's just rehearse ok." I say as I walk over to the mic stand.

Finn shrugs and steps behind his drum kit and begins to tap out the beat to our first song. After about an hour of rehearsal we take a break to grab some water.

I follow Finn up the stairs just as Rachel comes out of the kitchen with Tiffany hot on her heels.

"It was just a question, it's not like I asked to share him." Tiffany is shouting.

"No you just asked if he was hung like a horse which I found completely offensive." Rachel yells back.

They both look up and see us standing at the top of the stairs. Finn's mouth is wide open and clearly looks like he wants to run back down the stairs. Rachel brushes past me.

"Sorry, I was just getting a drink." She says as she stomps back down the stairs.

"That girl of yours is really sensitive." Tiffany says to Finn as she follows Rachel back down the stairs and Kurt shrugs his shoulders as he follows them both.

"What the hell was that man?" Finn says beside me.

"Apparently Tiffany is really hung up on your height to dick ratio." I say as I laugh and head past Finn to the kitchen.

"What the hell is a height to dick ratio…oh." He says as he slowly comes to realize what I meant. "Girls are freaking crazy."

"Yeah well you seem to bring out the freak in both guys and girls. Rachel told me you picked up a new admirer at the theater."

"Oh God. Apparently Peter Pan likes the height to dick ratio equation too." He says as he shivers and grabs a glass from the cabinet.

We head back down stairs and I see Kurt and Rachel whispering on the couch as Tiffany is talking to Kyle on the other side of the room.

Finn walks over and sits by Rachel. "Hey babe." He says smiling at her. She frowns and then leans over and plants her lips on his as she climbs onto his lap. I have seen Rachel and Finn go at it in our loft but usually they thought they were alone when they did it. Rachel has never been much on public displays of affection. But this is straight up a girl marking her territory.

"Um, hey." Finn says breathlessly as she pulls back from him.

"Hi." She says simply as she stands back up and sits on the couch beside him staring over at Tiffany.

"Well unless Rachel and Finn would like the room, I think we should get back to rehearsal." Kyle says in between a fit of laughter from beside Tiffany.

I watched the trio on the couch all through rehearsal as Tiffany would come over and sit by Kurt and Rachel and Rachel would get annoyed and Kurt would laugh uncontrollably for about twenty minutes while Tiffany just looked confused.

I look back at Finn who seemed concerned but continued with the song. Finally Kyle announces that we probably have done all we needed to do today so we start to pack up our gear and head home.

"Where are the girls?" I ask Finn.

"I have no clue. I went to the car to put the drum kit away and they were gone. Kurt's looking for them now." He says standing by the door.

At that moment Rachel comes storming out of the back room. "No Tiffany, I don't think YOU understand. But if you must know, it's so fucking big that he doesn't even need to bring drumsticks to play!"

Finn's head snaps up towards the direction Rachel just came from and his eyes grow really big and his mouth drops open. Kurt bursts into laughter from behind Rachel and Tiffany just stares Finn up and down.

Rachel sees us standing there and her face turns red as she marches to the front door and opens it and storms out.

"Damn Hudson, walk tall carry a big stick!" Kyle shouts from the kitchen.

"Fuck you all!" He says as he follows Rachel out the door.

"Been an interesting evening. Hope to do it again." I chuckle as I follow Kurt out the front door.

Finn is still standing on the landing and Rachel is sitting in the car. "Well….." I say as I walk over to him.

"Did you hear her? She said fucking!" He says looking over at me.

"That she did." I say simply.

"That was so damn hot!" He exclaims.

I laugh loudly as he walks to the car and climbs in the back seat next to her.

"I have a feeling we won't be sleeping tonight." I say to Kurt.

"Yeah that was insane. But I think I should have been paying more attention back home when Finn was done showering. She makes it sound like it should have its own zip code!"

"Oh my God Kurt!" I burst out laughing. We both climb into the car trying to stifle our laughter.

"Sorry Finn, she was just getting on my nerves and I had finally had enough." Rachel is saying to Finn.

"It's ok; you do realize you swore right?" Finn asks her.

"I did? Oh my goodness what did I say?"

"You said FUCKING Rachel." Kurt says from the passenger seat. She gasps and puts her hand to her mouth.

"It was really hot." Finn whispers to her.

"Well she deserved my cussing. It was totally rude." Rachel giggles.

"So Finn…" Kurt says looking back at Finn, "Just how big is it?"

"Oh my God, why does everyone want to know how big my damn dick is? You guys are crazy!" Finn says smacking Kurt in the back of the head.

Rachel sighs and looks out the window. "Can we just grab dinner or something? I'm really uncomfortable with everyone being so concerned with my sex life. I have to say that Finn is the only guy I have ever gotten that…intimate with where I have seen his….thing so I have no idea if it is big, normal, or small."

"HEY!" Finn says loudly. "Guys are sensitive when you use the word small in connection with their…thing Rachel."

Kurt is practically crying beside me as I pull in to the restaurant and park the car. "This has been the most awesome entertainment ever." He says.

"Just behave Kurt!" I warn him as we enter the restaurant and are seated in a corner booth.

"So have you heard from your parents?" Kurt asks me from beside me in the booth.

"Yeah they are going to be in Hawaii during the holidays so I'm just going to take Burt up on his offer to stay with you guys." My family rarely spends the holidays back in Ohio so it didn't come as a surprise to me when they told me they wouldn't be in town when I arrived.

"Well at least we'll be together the whole time." He says smiling.

"When will you be coming up Rachel?" I ask her.

"Probably the day after Thanksgiving. We finish our last show at 8pm that day so I will just drive up afterwards." She answers.

"Babe, you can't leave that late and drive by yourself. What if it's snowing or something? It's like a 10 hour drive." Finn says concerned.

"Finn, I'll be fine. Don't worry." She smiles and kisses his cheek.

"Of course I'll worry. I hate that you are driving alone. Maybe I should just stay and drive back with you." He says.

"No way Finn. You are spending Thanksgiving with your family and that's final."

"On a lighter note, when does the play open Rachel?" I ask her to stop the eventual fight that I see coming.

"It opens on Sunday actually. I'm so excited; we've worked so hard to be ready. Even Jesse couldn't find anything bad to say in rehearsal today."

"Shocking!" Kurt says dryly.

"Yeah no kidding. He's been very angry lately. I'm pretty sure Finn coming to rehearsal hasn't helped his mood much." She giggles looking over at Finn.

"Good! I hope it kills him every single time he sees me." Finn says shoving a breadstick in his mouth.

"Well I can't wait to see the play Rachel. I'm sure you are going to be an amazing Wendy." I give her a bright smile.

"Thank you Blaine. I've already reserved front row seats for the three of you."

"Awesome." Finn says.

The rest of the evening goes by pretty smoothly and we all get to the loft in a good mood. Kurt decides he wants to watch some television and we decide on watching a comedy about a high school Glee club that Kurt says reminds him of his high school years. Rachel and Finn sit on the couch beside us to see what the show is about.

"Dude, I bet that hockey stud ends up with that unpopular girl." Finn announces halfway through.

"Yeah she totally has a crush on him. Except his girlfriend is a real witch." Rachel giggles.

"This show is creeping me out. It's too much like we were. I feel like Jacob stole our lives and put them in that box." Kurt announces as a black gay guy comes into the shot with a sassy white girl on his arm yelling 'hell to the no' to everyone who walks by them.

"Yeah I'm getting tired. I think I'm going to head to bed for the night." Finn announces and winks at Rachel. She giggles.

"Me too, I'm so so tired."

Kurt rolls his eyes at me as they get up from the couch and Finn chases Rachel back to the bedroom.

"Those two never stop do they?" He says.

"And you only get them two nights a week." I laugh.

Suddenly we hear a cell phone going off on the couch. I reach into the couch and pull out Finn's phone. "I think its Carole." I say to Kurt.

He grabs the phone and answers it. "Hey mom. Yeah it's Kurt. Finn just went back to the bedroom. Yeah I can get him. Hold on." He puts the phone against his chest. "Do you think I'm safe to go in there?"

"They just went in there; they can't be that far into it yet." I laugh.

Kurt heads back to the room and I hear him knock on the door and then enter the room. Suddenly he screeches and runs back out of the room. "Sorry mom, he's gonna have to call you right back."

He hangs up the phone and walks back into the living room.

"That was awkward!" He says. "But on another note, at least now I know."

"Know what?" I ask him confused.

"What it means to be hung like a horse!"


	13. Chapter 13

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 13**

**Finn POV**

"Is she nervous?" Blaine leans over and whispers.

"Yeah, she's doing that thing where she hiccups every time she tries to talk. She's finally calmed down so hopefully that stops before the show starts." I take my seat in the front row next to Blaine and Kurt. It took about fifteen minutes trying to calm Rachel down before she steps out on stage for the first time as Wendy. I know she's going to do wonderful. I've seen all the rehearsals and she knew all her lines during the run through before the show.

But Rachel has a tendency to panic and back stage she was doing just that.

"Did you give her my pep talk?" Kurt says leaning over Blaine and whispering to me.

"Yeah I told her to imagine Jesse being trampled by a pack of wolves but then she started laughing so hard the hiccups got worse." I laugh.

"So what finally stopped the hiccups?" Blaine asks.

"Uh…they kind of just stopped." I say quickly and turn my attention back to the stage. I don't want to tell them that they stopped because I finally got her to think about something else in her dressing room. It's kind of hard to hiccup when you're breathing heavy.

"Well whatever works." He says.

"Yeah, I think she's going to be just fine." I smirk.

Suddenly the lights dim and the show begins. I'm mesmerized every time Rachel takes the stage. I know this is a kid's production and everything but she's amazing. I can't take my eyes off of her throughout the entire show. All I can think about is how proud I am of her and how much I just want to stand up and yell to everyone watching that she's my girl. Sometimes I seriously wonder what she is doing with me. I mean she's practically perfect and yet she's happily content wasting her time with me. I know I would be lost without her.

I'm brought out of my thoughts when I hear applause and the lights go up for intermission. Kurt looks over and gives me a thumbs up and I smile over at him. "She's perfect right?" I holler over at him.

"She always is." He responds.

I spend the rest of the show mouthing every line she has and wondering to myself what I would do without the beautiful brunette on stage and before I realize it, the show is ending and Rachel is taking her final bow. I stand when they introduce her and clap loudly. I sit down and the little girl beside me tugs on my jacket. "She's pretty isn't she?" she says quietly.

"Definitely pretty." I say smiling down at her.

"One day I want to be just like her." She giggles.

"Well she worked really hard to get where she is, so if you work hard, I bet you can get there too." I say.

"Do you know her?" The little girl says sounding surprised.

"I sure do. Would you like to meet her?"

The little girl turns toward her mom and excitedly asks if she can meet the pretty girl on stage and her mom agrees so I take her hand and lead her to the side of the stage.

"Rachel?" I yell toward her. Rachel sees me and quickly comes over to the stairs by the door.

"Hey Rachel, this is Kylie." I say introducing the little girl.

"Oh my gosh, you are so pretty up close." The little girl squeals.

"What a pretty name you have Kylie. Did you enjoy the show?" She asks her.

"It was so nice. You did really good. I want to be just like you one day."

"Well that's really sweet. Work hard and it can happen." Kylie reaches up and hugs Rachel's leg and then runs back to her mom.

"Hi." I say smiling up at her.

"Hi to you too." She giggles. "I see you made a friend."

"Yeah well, girls love me what can I say?" I laugh.

"So how was the show?"

"You were amazing. Perfectly amazing." I say as I pull her over for a quick kiss.

I go to every single show for the next two weeks and each time she gets better and better. It's after the seventh show that an article runs in the paper about her. Sure it's buried in a small section, but it's a good review of the show and it specifically calls Rachel out as the star of the small stage. She tries to act like It's not a big deal, but I can tell that she's screaming with excitement inside.

"I can't believe you are leaving tomorrow." She says as we crawl into bed after a long day and night.

"I know. I'm going to miss you. I haven't slept without you in months." I say as I slowly play with her hair. "But I know you want to be there for the show. And it's important to you."

"You're important to me too." She whispers.

"I got you something." I say leaning over and grabbing the small package out from under the bed.

"For me?" She exclaims with excitement. It's not wrapped in much more than newspaper but she unwraps it like it's made of gold. She flips the tiny frame over in her hands and puts her hand over her mouth. "Oh Finn. It's perfect."

"It's your first review. I figure we could frame them for each show and hang them on the wall. That way by the time you make it big, we will have filled our wall." I point to the blank wall on the opposite side of the bed. We never could figure out what to put there so it's been blank for months. I look over at her and see tears falling onto her cheeks. "Hey what's wrong?"

"I love you so much. I don't know what I would do without you." She cries.

"Don't cry. There's no reason to cry baby." I wrap my arms around her and pull her over toward me.

"I'm just so happy. I never thought I could be this happy." She puts the frame on the night stand and I feel her lips lightly graze my neck and I moan as I feel her tongue make contact with my skin.

"Baby, I love you too." I whisper.

She rolls over on top of me but her lips never leave my neck and her tongue travels up to my earlobe as she pulls it in to her mouth and then I feel her hot breath in my ear as she whispers, "I need you Finn, please."

I pull back and look at her and the tears falling from her eyes and I reach up and wipe one from her cheek. "Ok baby, ok." I roll her onto her back and lean over to lightly touch her lips with mine. I pour every ounce of my love into her mouth as I lean forward to kiss her harder, my hands slowly lifting her nightgown as I rest my palm against her thigh. I lean over on my elbow and slide my boxers off my hips and rest in between her thighs. I look down at her, still crying, but smiling at me with that beautiful smile that still captures my heart as I slowly push inside of her.

She moans softly without taking her eyes from mine and I quickly kiss her again as she breathes my name against my lips. I need to feel her, to breathe her in. It's moments like this, when we are truly connected, that I realize how much I need her. I slide out of her again only to push all the way back inside of her as she gasps out and pulls my mouth to hers and I feel like my whole body is set on fire when I feel her tongue collide with mine.

"God I love you Rach. I love you so much." I whisper against her mouth.

She wraps her legs around my waist and I take her hand in mine as I use my mouth to kiss a trail down her chin to her neck, loving every inch of her that I come in contact with. "Oh God Finn." She moans out breathlessly.

I pull back from her neck and look into her eyes as I push into her over and over until I feel like I can't hold back anymore. She closes her eyes and I feel her fingers pinch into my shoulder. "Baby look at me." I whisper. She opens her eyes looking up at me and I push harder inside her. "I need to see your eyes baby. I want to see you cum for me." She moans out and her nails dig into my skin again causing me to throw my head back as I feel like I'm so close to losing control. I look back down at her and I kiss her nose, and then her cheek, and then her jaw. "I love you Rachel." I moan out and I feel her tighten around me and she groans out my name with her eyes locked on mine. It's enough to throw me over the edge seeing her lose control like that and I explode inside of her.

I don't know how long it takes for our breathing to return to normal but I lay there still inside her as my fingers comb through her hair, her eyes still locked onto mine. "You're so perfect." I say quietly.

"I'm not perfect." She giggles.

"You are to me." I say seriously.

I roll over onto my side as I slip out of her and she quickly cuddles up against me. "What am I going to do without you?" She sighs.

"Baby, it's only for a couple of days. You'll be by my side again in no time."

"I'm going to miss you."

"I know. I'll miss you too. Try and get some sleep." I say as I continue running my fingers through her hair.

I don't know how long we lay like that but before I know it, an alarm is going off somewhere in the room and I feel Rachel move beside me to turn it off. "Finn, you have to get up." She says pushing on my chest.

"No, I don't want to get up." I say laughing.

"You need to if you want to get on the road." She says pulling the covers from me.

Crap. I'm leaving her today. I open my eyes and the sunlight hits me in the face. "Ugh can't we leave at night." I say pulling for the covers again.

"No way, now get up." She hops out of bed taking the covers with her.

I can hear Kurt and Blaine in the other room and occasionally Kurt hollers out something about the driver still being in bed so I realize I need to get out of bed before I have him attacking me with water or something.

After a warm shower and a lecture from Kurt about getting out of bed when the alarm goes off so that we aren't late and we don't hit traffic, we are finally packed and ready to leave.

"Now you are sure that you are going to be ok driving down that late in Kurt's car?" I ask Rachel for the fifth time.

"Finn, I'm going to be just fine. Please stop worrying about me." She giggles.

"I know but I just want to make sure you are safe. Maybe I shouldn't go." I say again.

I hear Kurt groan from the passenger seat and I slam his door shut on him.

"Finn, for the last time, I will be fine. You have to stop worrying and get on the road." She reaches up and kisses my cheek and pushes me toward the driver's side.

"Ok fine, but I'm going to call you as soon as we stop for gas. And then when we get there."

"I'll be waiting then." She smiles.

"Good luck on your play. I'll be there in spirit." I say leaning over and picking her up off the ground.

"Enjoy your Thanksgiving and I'll see you in a few days." She grins.

"I miss you already." I sigh.

"Oh my God you two, you can't miss each other if we don't get on the damn road." Kurt yells from inside the car.

"OK KURT!" I holler back.

"I love you baby." Rachel says as she closes my door.

"I love you too." I lean out the window and kiss her one last time and she steps away from the car.

I pull out onto the road and look in the rear view mirror and see her standing on the sidewalk waving to me. I know it's only a couple of days, but being away from Rachel for even a minute feels like a lifetime.

"She'll be fine Finn." Blaine says from the backseat.

"Yeah, she still has the play to finish and before you know it she'll be in Lima."

I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket and I reach down to look at it.

New Text from Rachel Berry.

'_Miss U already. 3R'_

"No way are you killing me by texting and driving." Kurt says as he reaches over and grabs my phone. I see him quickly typing away and then putting the phone down in the center console.

"What did you say to her?" I question.

"I told her that she was fabulous last night and you can't wait to do her again." He says flatly.

"WHAT?" I yell.

"Oh I'm really going to enjoy this trip." Kurt says laughing looking down at the screen as I hear my phone buzz with Rachel's response. "She says you can do her anytime you want." He says holding up the phone and then quickly typing out a response.

"Whatever you are saying you better delete it now." I holler trying to grab the phone and he smacks my hand away.

"No way, I'm having too much fun being you. Now what would your response be to 'I want you to fuck me up against the wall' anyway?"

Oh God this is going to be the road trip from hell!


	14. Chapter 14

**Brand New Start **

**Chapter 14**

**Kurt POV**

"If you don't stop I'm going to pee right on the floor of your car." I yell.

"Dude, we just stopped an hour ago. You really need to stop drinking so much water Kurt!" Finn says as he pulls off the exit toward the gas station.

"It's not my fault you only brought salty snacks to eat on this trip. This is what happens when you plan stuff and Rachel isn't here."

"You didn't have to eat them." Blaine says from the back.

"You just stay out of this mister." I say giving him a dirty look.

"Just go pee already!" Finn complains.

Finn has been extra cranky ever since we left Rachel standing on the sidewalk back in New York. I know he would prefer to be back home with her. Rachel and Finn went through a lot in high school. They spent more time apart it felt like than they did together. But ever since we got to New York there isn't really a day that goes by that they aren't connected at the hip. They ride to school together, Finn goes to her rehearsals, Rachel goes to every show One Night Stand performs, they cook dinner together, hang out, and everyone in the loft knows they go to bed together. I've never seen my brother so happy and content. And he has a way of calming Rachel's crazy down that no one else can do.

When I get back to the car he's already on his phone. "Yeah I miss you too. And you won't forget to lock up tonight right. And check the windows. I know we are on the third floor but that's not the point Rachel, you never know if there are some weird ninja thieves around, they could climb walls Rachel."

I turn and roll my eyes at Blaine who is holding back laughter.

"Just lock the windows baby; I'll sleep better knowing you did. Ok I love you too."

"WE LOVE YOU TOO." Blaine and I both yell in a high voice and Finn rolls his eyes as he hangs up the phone.

"Do you think she'll be ok? I mean she's never been on her own in New York and I'm just worried that she won't take it seriously and…"

"Finn, she's a big girl. I'm sure she will be fine." I say interrupting him before he starts freaking out again.

The rest of the drive I spend texting Rachel from Finn's phone.

'_Has he calmed down yet? R'_

'_Well he's stopped yelling bout ninjas scaling the wall. K'_

'_What was that even about? R'_

'_U let him watch 2 much late nite tv. K'_

'_He's not a child. R'_

'_So U say. K'_

"What are you two talking about?" Finn asks from the driver's side.

"You. She said she's leaving you for Tiffany. Apparently girls are the way to go now." Blaine spits his water out in the back seat.

"Very funny Kurt." Finn says mockingly.

"Well at least they wouldn't be fighting over the size of your dick big boy!" I joke.

"Kurt. We talked about this." Blaine scolds me.

"Sorry sweetie."

I look up in time to see the Welcome to Lima sign and quickly text Rachel to tell her we are almost home.

When we pull up into the drive Finn snatches the phone from my hand and dials Rachel's number. I see my dad and Carole come out the front door and I grab my stuff as Finn starts talking. "Baby, hi. I miss you so much. Yeah we just got here. I wish I was there with you though. You locked up right? I know I know I'm being paranoid. I just don't want anything to happen to you baby. Ok yeah Kurt is looking at me funny now. I should go. Yeah I miss you too, I love you…."

I quickly hop out of the car before I throw up from all the goo goo gaa gaa coming out of my brother's mouth and run up and hug Carole. "MOM! Happy Thanksgiving." I say as she returns the hug.

"Is Finn coming?" she asks.

I look back and see Finn is still on his phone in the car and Blaine is grabbing the bags from the trunk. "Yeah he's just not done crying over missing Rachel right now."

"Awww that's so adorable." She coos.

"Yeah try listening to it for ten hours straight. Not so adorable then." I say as I reach up to hug my dad.

Finn finally climbs out of the car and helps Blaine with the bags as he sets them down in front of his mom and then picks her up in a big hug.

"Hey mom. Missed you. Did you get shorter?"

She laughs loudly and wipes a tear from her eye. "No but I think you've gotten taller. How is that even possible?" She laughs. "How's Rachel?"

"She's fine. Excited to be here in a couple of days though. You should see her show mom. She's wonderful." He gushes.

"Oh I bet she is. I can't wait until she gets here."

The rest of the evening is spent settling in to the house. Mom has arranged the basement for Sam and Puck to sleep in when they get in tomorrow and Finn and I settle back into our old rooms. We sit up for hours talking to Carole and dad about what life in New York is like. I tell them all how great Julliard is while ignoring the death glares from Blaine for not telling them about the difficulties I am having with some of my classmates. But I'm not wanting to concern anyone. It's not like high school; this is just a part of growing up and dealing with difficult people.

Finn and Blaine gush about their band and how they are playing on New Year's Eve and what a big deal it is for them. And Carole cries more than once as Finn talks about switching his major to Education.

"I can't believe you are going to be a teacher Finn. A teacher." She smiles.

"It's just a music teacher ma." Finn says embarrassed.

"It's a big deal Finn. I'm so proud of you."

Blaine talks about his issues with his mentor at the firm and dad tells him to stay strong and stand his ground and not let the guy get away with anything. We talk about Max and how I'm starting to adjust to life with her in the dorms. As much as she drives me insane, she is actually becoming a good friend.

I see Finn pull out his phone and send Rachel a text and talk about how tired his is and he quickly starts to gather his stuff to head up to his room.

"Just keep it down up there hot stuff." I say winking at him. "The rest of the house would like to get some sleep without hearing about where you want to touch her."

"Oh my God Kurt! Would you keep your mind out of the gutter?" He scolds, but then he winks and heads up the stairs.

Gross!

It's weird sleeping in my old room. It's weird being back in my own house. It's kind of nice coming back but also nice knowing that I have your own life somewhere else finally. Just laying here with Blaine makes me happy for when this year is up and I can start staying at the loft every night. I often wonder what Rachel will do if she opts to try for Julliard again. I don't know how she will survive a year without Finn in her bed. It's hard to get used to not having them there once you have it every night.

I end up falling asleep somewhere during my thoughts because before I know it the sunlight is creeping in the room and I hear Blaine taking a shower in the bathroom. I climb out of bed and I can hear people downstairs talking loudly. I head down to the living room and see Sam standing next to Finn.

"Dude!" He says walking over and giving me a hug. "Feels like it's been forever."

"Yo Hummel." I hear Puck shout from the other side of the room "Get over here and hug me before I kick your ass."

Seeing Puck and Sam brings back all the joy of our senior year. I finally feel like I'm home again. It's so nice to see everyone.

"We're heading to the Lima mall dude. You wanna come?" Finn asks.

"Sure sounds awesome. Let me go get Blaine." I climb the stairs and see Blaine getting dressed by the bed. "Hey babe, the guys are here and they want to go to the mall."

"Sounds like a plan. Anything to keep Finn's mind off of Rachel is a good idea." He says laughing.

Blaine is greeted by both Puck and Sam with a giant hug and it makes me really happy to see how welcomed Blaine is by my family and friends. With the passing of the same sex marriage law this year in New York, it makes me happy to know that maybe one day I can have that with Blaine.

We all head down to the mall in Puck's van. The guys are all talking nonstop about L.A and how many chicks Puck and Sam get. Apparently they live in some Melrose Place type apartment complex where chicks clothes falling off is a normal occasion.

"So you live in a whore house?" I ask.

"No it's just the way L.A is dude! It's freaking amazing!" Puck laughs. "You've gotta visit us Finn, you would die!"

"I think I'm good dude." Finn laughs still messing around with his phone.

"Yeah Finn's already practically married to Rachel anyway." I say to Sam.

"Dude I love Rachel, don't get me wrong, but you gotta see the chicks in L.A." Puck continues.

"Nah, I think I'll survive." He says sending off another text.

"Man she has you by the balls." Puck jokes.

"Yes, nightly." I spit out and Sam and Blaine both choke.

"Yeah well based on that video you guys sent us." Sam starts to say.

"What video? What have I missed?" I ask Finn.

"Nothing! It was nothing. It was just a mistake!" He yells back at me.

"Oh God, not another porno mistake?"

"Yeah we posted it on YouTube." Sam snorts.

"WHAT!" Finn screams, "Dude I will kick your ass."

"I'm kidding. Trust me, we deleted it. No one wants the image of seeing your ass EVER again." Puck says pulling into the mall parking lot.

"Well except we did like the cookie monster boxer shorts." Sam chuckles.

"Ok drop it now." Finn says irritated and climbs out of the van.

"You guys are too much." I say to Puck and Sam.

After an hour I realize that I don't miss the mall in Lima. Shopping in New York is a whole other experience. I don't know how I survived in Lima all these years.

I walk over to Finn who is on the phone. "Yeah we are at the mall. I wish you were here. No it's not the same without you in my arms at night baby." I clear my throat and he turns to look at me and holds up his finger telling me to wait. "Yeah ok, baby Kurt wants me for something. Ok I'll call you tonight. Yeah I miss you too baby." He turns away from me and whispers. "Wear the purple one tonight. You know I love that one. Ok love you. Bye." I roll my eyes as he turns back to me.

"What?" He asks.

"Nothing, trust me, I don't want to know."

"Oh my God, is that you Finn?" I hear the voice behind me as Finn's eyes widen.

"Hey Quinn." He says dryly.

I turn and face her. "Quinn, what a surprise." I say.

"Oh hi Kurt. I didn't recognize you. How are you both? Are you home for the holidays?"

"Yeah we are here until Christmas." Finn answers.

"Oh that's so exciting. " She says as Blaine walks over.

"Where's Rachel?" she asks.

"She's still in New York. She's in a play until the day after Thanksgiving. But she'll be here soon." Finn is saying as I can see her smile widen.

"We should get together and do something, just the two of us." She giggles.

"Uh, I'm pretty busy actually. Hanging out with the guys. But it was great seeing you Quinn." Finn says as he grabs my arm and drags me over to Puck and Sam.

"You guys ready to get out of here." He says quickly to them. "I need to go before Quinn tries to get her claws in me again."

"Yes Finn, let's get you home before you get attacked by the little girl." Puck teases.

"Yeah he needs to get home. Rachel is wearing the purple bra tonight." I spit out as all the guys burst into laughter and Finn's face turns the same shade as that bra.


	15. Chapter 15

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 15**

**Rachel POV**

"Of course I'm wearing the purple one." I giggle.

"Awesome. I think that's my favorite one." Finn sighs into the phone.

"I miss you Finn." I say quietly.

"I know baby. Two more days and you'll be here though."

"Two days seems like forever."

"Then just think about how many shows you have left. Three more shows to perform and you will be here."

"That sounds worse. I hate sleeping in this bed by myself. And yes I locked the window." I giggle.

"Good. Now let's stop worrying about when you are going to get here and talk about something more important like exactly what are you wearing with that purple bra and what will it take to get you out of it."

I giggle. "Hold on."

"Just what do you want me to hold on to?" He smirks.

"I'm serious. Just hold on." I grab the phone and turn it on me and click the camera button.

"Ok I'm back." I giggle.

"What were you doing? Wait, hold on I'm getting a text from….holy shit."

"Do you like?"

"When did you get those?" He says and I can already hear him drooling.

"Just something I picked up at Victoria's Secret today along with some other things."

"If I start driving now, I can be home before you know it." He moans out and I can't hold back the laughter.

"Well at least I know you like it."

"Like it, holy crap Rach, you can see your whole ass. I don't just like it, it's freaking burned into my brain now."

I laugh again as I lay back on the bed. "So…"

"Yeah soo…what'cha doin Rach?" He says with that husky voice that drives me wild.

"Nothin' what are you doin'?" I say quietly.

"Thinking about you, and me, and stuff…."

"What kind of stuff Hudson." I smirk.

"Babe I suck at this." He groans.

"I thought that was my job." I say trying to sound as sexy as I can muster and my heart is starting to race as I think about him. He's silent on the other line. "Finn…don't tell me you went to sleep."

"Uh no. I'm here. Just uh…thinkin'." He says softly.

My phone buzzes and I see the incoming text from Finn. I pull up my screen and my heart drops.

"Oh my God Finn. Well now I'm definitely not sleeping tonight."

"I guess you like what you see?" He says with a slight laugh in his voice. "Yeah well just don't go posting that on your Facebook page. We don't want everyone to start talking about the ratio."

"I don't share well Finn, so I'm keeping this one to myself."

"Good because it's only for you anyway."

He gets quiet again and after a minute I start to wonder if he's falling asleep. "Finn…are you there?"

"Yeah." He says softly "Rach, I uh, I don't want to feel like an idiot here, but uh, am I the only one actually um…doing stuff to myself right now?"

I giggle but my heart actually starts racing and suddenly I feel like I'm back in high school again and I'm actually feeling nervous. "Um no."

"No meaning you are touching yourself or no I'm the only one?" He says starting to sound paranoid.

"No you aren't the only one touching yourself Finn." I laugh.

"Oh ok, cool. I uh…shit, I just don't know what I'm supposed to be doing here Rach."

"So what are you thinking about?" I say trying to help him out.

"Like right now or…"

"Yes Finn, right now. And it better not be about you wanting food."

He laughs out loud into the phone and I hear him muffle the receiver. "Sorry, I told you I was bad at this. Ok, what am I thinking about? I was thinking I hope my mom doesn't come in my room and catch me jerking off if you want to really know. But then I looked at that picture of you on my phone again and I'm really just thinking about that new thong you are wearing."

"Well I was thinking about you removing it. With your teeth."

"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be very good at doing that with just my teeth cuz…."

"FINN! You are making this really difficult."

"Sorry, what exactly do I do Rach? I've never exactly done this."

"Ok, let me help. What are you doing to yourself at this very second?" I say hoping this will prompt him.

"Uh you already know what I'm doing."

"Finn, just tell me what you are doing."

"Ok ok, I'm uh, touching myself." He says sounding proud of himself.

"Ok how are you touching yourself?"

"With my hands?" He questions.

I groan in frustration. "Ok Finn, let me tell you what I'm doing. Right now I have one hand on my breast and I'm pinching my nipple with my thumb and finger, my other hand is moving down my belly and past my belly button. I'm sliding my fingers down to my clit and I'm all wet thinking about you."

The other end of the phone is completely silent.

"Holy mother of Fuck!" He finally says quite loudly.

"Finn, don't tell the whole house and don't swear!" I yell.

"Sorry." He whispers. "But uh that was, wow. When the hell..err..heck did you start talking like that?"

"Not important right now, focus Finn."

"Ok!" He breathes out slightly hard.

"So NOW what are you thinking about?"

"Oh um, ok I can do this." I roll my eyes as I wait for him to continue. "I'm thinking about running my tongue over your breasts while I slide my fingers inside of you as you continue to rub yourself. Err, was that bad?"

"No Finn, that was a very good start."

"Rach?"

"Yes Finn."

"You know how you always tell me that I shouldn't objectify women?"

"Yes why are we talking about this now?"

"Because right now I don't want to talk about all this crap, I just want to fuck you up against a wall and that seems like something that might be a bit rude or objectifying."

I moan lightly into the phone at the sound of his voice, "That was really quite hot Finn. I like when you get aggressive."

"Wait, you liked that?" He says sounding surprised. "Hell I can do that! If you wanted me to tell you how much I wanted to fuck you I could have done that twenty minutes ago because I really want to do that."

"I want you to do that too Finn. I love feeling you inside me; just you sliding in and out of me is enough to get me off sometimes."

I hear him moan and my heart starts to race and the speed of my fingers increases causing my own moan to escape my lips.

"God I love hearing you moan like that." He says softly and I can tell that his own breathing has become labored.

"I only do that for you baby. You are the only one."

"I want you so bad; sometimes it's all I can think of. Just to have your mouth on mine, and my hands all over you."

"Oh God Finn." I squeal as my fingers slip inside me again and I imagine Finn being there with me. "I just want to feel you inside me, I love when you are inside me."

"You want me to fuck you baby." He moans out and I feel myself blush from his words.

"Yes." I say feeling myself getting closer.

"Say it Rach. I wanna hear you say it." He says almost out of breath.

"I…I want…I want you to fuck me Finn." I feel myself fall over the edge as I hear Finn grunt into the phone and I hear him whisper my name and then fall silent.

"Wow." He says after a while.

"Yeah wow." I whisper breathlessly.

"Well now you just need to get here so I can cuddle you afterwards. It's not the same without that. But if you tell Puck and Sam that I will have to kill you." He laughs.

"It's our little secret Finn. I love you. So so much."

"I love you too Rach. Get some sleep baby. You've got two shows to do tomorrow."

"Ok babe. Enjoy your Thanksgiving. I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too baby. Goodnight."

When I wake up in the morning, my heart feels heavy. It's Thanksgiving and I don't feel very thankful. All I want is Finn. I roll over and my arm feels something cold in the bed. I reach over and pick up the object. I flip over my cell phone and see I missed 2 text messages from Finn.

'_Happy Thanksgiving to the most wonderful reason I am thankful for. YOU! 3 F'_

'_Good luck today. I wish I could be there to support you. 3 F'_

I groan as I climb out of bed and trip over my shoes, hitting my head on the dresser.

I climb into the shower and the water immediately goes from hot to cold. No matter what I do the hot water won't come back on. I try and hurry through the ice shower and as I'm shampooing my hair the phone rings, I reach around for the phone but the shampoo runs into my eyes and I slip on the soap landing on my butt.

"DAMMIT!" I yell.

My favorite T-shirt rips as I pull it over my head and there is a huge hole in the butt of my pants. I finally find my phone and see I missed a call from Finn. I dial his number but the phone goes straight to voicemail.

I climb in Kurt's car to head to the theater but it won't start. I call Bill and he offers to come pick me up.

As I'm waiting on the curb a car flies by hitting the mud puddle on the side of the street completely soaking me in mud and rain water. By the time Bill gets there I'm covered in mud with tears streaming down my face.

"What the hell happened to you?" He asks.

"Day from hell." I say simply as I climb in the car.

"It's Thanksgiving love, don't you have anything to be thankful for?" He says.

"NO! My reason to be thankful is in Ohio and I'm just here getting my butt kicked for not being with him."

We pull into the theater parking lot and head for our dressing rooms. As I'm getting dressed I try Finn's phone again but it goes straight to voicemail.

"Dammit Finn, charge your stupid phone." I yell at my phone.

"Problems?" I hear from behind me. I turn to see Jesse staring at me with a huge grin on his face.

"No. Not a single damn problem." I shout.

"Woah. It's ok Rachel. If you are having trouble with Finn you can always talk to me about it."

"I'm not having problems with Finn! It's just that it's Thanksgiving and I'm here alone and I'm not happy about it." I throw myself down on my couch.

"You aren't alone Rachel." He says sitting down and putting his arm around me. "You have people who care about you. People who want to be with you."

I look over at him and that's when it hits me. "You're right." I say.

He smiles and leans in toward me. "I knew you would see things eventually."

"What are you doing?" I say pushing him backwards.

"But you just…"

"I said you were right. I have people who want to be with me and instead I'm here with YOU! I need to leave."

"What? You have three shows left to finish Rachel."

"No, that's what we have understudies for." I say getting up and grabbing my stuff.

"Everything has been going wrong today. It's because I'm in the wrong place. I need to be with Finn. I'm happy to have done this show. But there are things that are always going to be more important than the stage. Sometimes, you have to go where you belong."

"You belong on that stage as Wendy right now. You can't just walk out on this show."

"Jenny will do a fine job. She's a wonderful understudy. And I did every single show besides these last three."

"That's not the point. Finn is not more important than your career Rachel."

"Actually he is. I love the stage Jesse and I want to be there. But that doesn't mean I have to sacrifice Finn to get there. He was willing to let me do this. He supported me, but I'm telling you, I can feel it. I need to go home."

I walk out of the dressing room and inform a very happy Jenny that she is going to take over for the next three shows and head out of the theater and call a cab to take me to the airport.

I try to call Finn the entire ride to the airport but his phone is still off

"I'm sorry miss but we have no flights available today. It's Thanksgiving."

"I'm very aware that it's Thanksgiving. That's why I'm trying to get home." I say annoyed.

"Let me see what I can do." She walks away for a moment and then comes back. "Yes I found you a flight."

"Oh thank you."

"It leaves tomorrow at 8am."

I breathe in. "But today is Thanksgiving. NOT tomorrow."

"I'm sorry that is the best I can do. I checked all airlines going out of this airport."

I grab my stuff and stomp off toward the exit.

"Rachel?" I hear a voice behind me and turn to see Kurt's roommate Max.

"Max? What are you doing here?"

"Just dropping Chuck off at the airport. He's headed back to see his parents for the holidays. Are you flying out?"

"NO! Apparently there are no flights." I say frustrated.

"I thought you had some play you were in?"

"Well I decided I wanted to go home and be with Finn instead but then all the flights are gone and I won't get home and his phone is off so I can't get ahold of him and everything is going wrong." I fall over onto my suitcase and burst out into tears.

"Woah! Girl you are worse than Kurt. You gotta calm down." She says.

"I just wanted to see Finn." I say sobbing into my hands.

"Ok well it's 7am. And how long is it to drive to Ohio?"

"It's 10 hours. But Kurt's car won't work so I can't drive either." I sob.

"Well I don't have any plans. Never really celebrated the holidays. I could always drive you there if you wanted."

I look up shocked. "Are you serious? You would just drive to Ohio for no reason."

"Well I thought you needed to get to Ohio. That's a reason right?"

I jump up and hug her. Here is this girl who I barely know standing there with a pair of Kurt's boxers tied around her head and she's willing to drive 10 hours to take me home to Finn. Maybe I do have things to be thankful for today.

"Well let's make wind sister. We got a road trip to take." She says grabbing my suitcases and walking toward the exit.

The car is small and smells like feet but it's getting me home to Finn. Max apparently likes to listen to loud music where there really isn't singing but a whole lot of someone destroying their vocal chords by screaming. I have no idea how she got into Julliard and I really hope it has nothing to do with singing.

"So Max, tell me about yourself." I say trying to start a conversation.

"Well, my parents hated me growing up so I moved in with Chuck when I was fifteen. I robbed a few liquor stores when I was 17 and went to Juvie." I'm staring at her with my mouth open as she continues. "Chuck killed a lady during our last robbery and got sent to the slammer."

"O..Oh. That's um…interesting." I say staring out the window.

"I'm messing with you Berry. HAHA. You should see your face." She laughs loudly.

"OK!" I say.

"Nah, my family is rich; they like to give me money. I took all kinds of music lessons as a kid and got really good at playing the guitar. I met Chuck at a music shop. He's got issues with stealing stuff, but he's harmless. But my parents were set on my going to Julliard and I guess that's why I went."

"If your family is rich and gives you money all the time, why do you drive this….um…car?" I ask confused.

"Because it makes me feel like I'm normal. I hate feeling like a rich brat. It's just not for me."

"Well I guess that makes sense. So you don't hang out with your family?"

"Nah. They don't have a lot of time for me. I don't really know which country they are even in right now."

"That's terrible. What were you going to do for Thanksgiving?" I ask concerned.

"Go through Kurt's desk and see if he has anything interesting in there." She says matter of factly.

"Um ok. You know you can stay for dinner with me tonight if you like. Finn's mom is very nice and I'm sure she wouldn't mind."

"You'd have me at your family dinner? You don't even know me."

"You don't know me and you just drove me 10 hours so that I could be with my boyfriend." I say.

"You seem nice enough. A bit high strung, but harmless."

"Well, I would like it very much if you stayed."

"Thanks, Berry. That's really sweet." She says slapping me on the shoulder.

I see the Welcome to Lima sign come in to view and check the clock. 6pm. I pull out my phone and try Finn's phone again. This time it rings through.

"Rachel?" he says into the phone.

"Finn, I've been trying to call you all day."

"I'm so sorry, SOMEONE lost my phone today." He yells. I hear Noah in the background. "HEY I WAS JUST MAKING SOME CALLS, IT'S NOT MY FAULT I FORGOT WHERE I PUT IT. NICE THONG BY THE WAY RACH."

I close my eyes and put my hands over my face.

"Sorry Rach." Finn says softly as I hear him leave the room and a door shutting. "What are you doing calling? I thought your show wouldn't be over yet."

"Oh um, it's intermission." I say looking over at a confused Max. "I just wanted to catch you before dinner. You haven't had dinner yet right?"

"No, mom is putting it on the table though. Should be soon."

"Oh excellent." I say excited. I point toward the road I want and Max turns in.

"I miss you so much. I wish you were here." He says.

"I miss you too baby. Did you get my package?" I ask him.

"Package? I don't think so."

I point to the house on the left and Max pulls in to the drive. "Yeah I said to have it delivered after 6pm. It should be there now. Have you checked the porch?" I hear the door open again.

"No, I'll go check now."

I jump out of the car and run up the lawn to the porch. The front door opens and Finn is standing there with his mouth open.

"Holy crap Rachel, what are you doing here?" He says excited.

"I realized that you were the one thing I was thankful for and there is no Thanksgiving for me without you."

He closes the gap between us and picks me up off the ground into a hug and then quickly puts me down. "What about the show? What did you tell Jesse? "

"Jenny went on for me. I told Jesse to back off and left."

"Back off? When did he back in?" He says with a confused look on his face.

"Long story. Which I will tell you about later. Right now I just want to enjoy your mom's dinner. And I think Max is hungry." I say as I point to Max standing by the car. She waves and walks up the lawn toward us.

"Wow, you drove 10 hours with her in that car?" He laughs. "You really did want to get here."

"Well you are more important to me than anything in this world Finn. I needed to be here."

He leans down and kisses me. "Happy Thanksgiving Finn." I say as he pulls away.

"Happy Thanksgiving Rachel."


	16. Chapter 16

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 16**

**Blaine POV**

"Man the stores here are so small compared to New York." Finn says to me as we leave one of the corner shops in the mall.

"Right? I was just thinking the same thing." I answer.

"I can't believe I was afraid to leave this place. Now I can't imagine not living in New York."

"I guess when you live in a small town you just don't see too far outside the county line. I'm glad we took the chance and went past that line."

We stop in the music store so that Finn can pick up some more drumsticks that he likes when Finn takes off in the other direction. I follow him quickly and see him standing shaking hands with his old teacher Mr. Schuester. I walk over behind him.

"Yeah I'm home until after Christmas. How are you?" He is saying to his former teacher.

"I'm great Finn. Really well, but you have to tell me what is going on with you. How's New York, how's Rachel?"

"It's great. Rachel is amazing. She got her first role in Peter Pan the musical. She totally killed it. You would have been so proud of her Mr. Schue." I laugh as I watch his face as he talks about Rachel. I don't even think Rachel knows how much of a fan Finn is of anything she does.

"That's amazing. I knew she would be big in New York. What about you?"

"Oh yeah, I totally figured out what I want to do. I'm going to be a music teacher. My instructor said I'm really good with kids and can use my drumming to do that. I never knew I could do that you know."

His teachers face is showing nothing but pride as he smiles up at Finn. "Wow. I'm so proud of you Finn. You will be an excellent educator." Finn sees me standing behind me.

"Oh yeah, you remember Blaine, Kurt's boyfriend?"

Mr. Schue reaches out his hand and shakes mine. "Yeah I remember you. Regionals junior year right?"

"Yeah that's me." I say.

"He's the lead singer in our band. Oh I forgot to mention I'm in one. We're totally playing for New Year's Eve."

"That's so amazing Finn. I'm happy for both of you. How is Kurt?" He asks me.

"Kurt's doing great. Still at Julliard. It's been an adjustment but you know Kurt, he's strong." I say.

"Oh yes, he's definitely strong at heart."

We talk a bit more catching up about him and the guidance counselor getting engaged and how happy he is that Sue has moved on from McKinley and is now working in politics in Cleveland. We finally say our goodbyes and he tells us to stop by and see him before we leave.

We finish our purchases at the music store and head out to the food court for lunch. I get a text from Kurt saying that he and Rachel are going to spend some time at Santana's for a few hours and then meet us back at Finn's house for dinner.

"Yo douche bag!" We hear from the other side of the food court and I look up to see Puck coming our way with Sam following behind him. Finn rolls his eyes and then sits down at the nearest table.

"Rude much?" Finn says as Puck sits down.

"Grow a vagina much?" He barks back.

"Where are Rachel and Kurt?" Sam asks me.

"Santana's last I heard." I answer.

"So, tell us about New York. Any hot chicks at your school?" Puck asks us both.

"I obviously don't look at the female sex that much." I laugh.

"Yeah I don't really notice. I mean there are some girls there, but I don't really have time to talk to them between band rehearsal, school work, and Rachel." Finn says as he bites down into his hamburger.

"You know you won't burn at the stake if you look at another chick right?"

"Yeah I know that dickhead. I just choose not to."

"Speaking of chicks." Sam says nodding his head in the direction behind me. "Hey Quinn." He says with his jaw clinched.

"Imagine running into you four again. May I?" She asks pointing to the seat next to Finn. He nods and she takes the seat as she leans over and kisses him on the cheek. He pulls back quickly and returns to eating his hamburger.

"So what are you guys up to?" She asks.

"Talking about New York?" Sam says.

"Oh lovely. Just how is New York Finn?" She asks leaning over and putting her hand on his knee. Finn jerks and bangs his leg on the table and she pulls her hand back quickly.

"Um, New York is great. Love it. Really glad I moved." He says shortly between bites of food.

"So when does Rachel get here? It must have been hard having Thanksgiving without her."

"She came in last night, totally unexpected. It was a nice surprise." Finn says smiling.

Quinn frowns and quickly changes her expression to a smile so fast that you would have missed it if you weren't' watching her closely. "That's great."

"So what are you up to Quinn?" I ask her.

"Oh um, me? Nothing too exciting. I'm going to beauty school right now to get my cosmetology license."

"Cosma what?" Finn says while chewing.

"Cosmetology. I'm going to be a hair designer." She says smiling slightly.

"Oh. Like cutting hair?" He asks. "That's cool. What happened to the whole real estate thing?"

"Oh well, I was going to do that but I just decided this was easier."

"You shouldn't always take the easy way out Quinn. Just look at me. If I had done that I would be stuck here working for Burt. Now I have this amazing life I never knew was even possible."

She frowns as Finn is talking and Finn just keeps going not realizing the impact his words are having on her. I knew Kurt told me that Quinn was pretty obsessed with Finn, but you don't really realize how much until you see it for yourself.

"Well thank you Finn, I'll have to remember that. I need to get going. I'm supposed to meet my mom for lunch. You guys have fun. Maybe I'll see you around Finn."

Finn waves but never looks up from his sandwich as she walks away.

"Girl still has it bad for Finnster." Puck laughs.

"What?" Finn says looking up. "Nah. I mean I hope not cuz I'm not in the mood for her brand of crazy right now."

"So back to the chicks that you say exist that you never see." Puck asks again.

"Dude, I'm telling you, I go to school with Rachel, we meet up for lunch, go back to class, we go home together, I head out for band practice, or we go to her rehearsals, we make dinner, we have Klainchel Game night on Saturdays and chill out on Sundays. I don't have time for anything else."

"Fuck! You might as well just have your balls removed. You're already fucking married."

"What the heck is Klainchel night?" Sam asks at the same time as Puck is talking.

"One, Fuck you!" Finn says to Puck, "Two, it's our game night where Blaine and I pick a game and Rachel and Kurt pick a movie. We switch it up each week and it's all kinds of fun so don't say another word Puck." Finn says raising his finger to Puck who was starting to speak.

"It sounds very cozy. Do you know what I do on Saturday night? I party. Girls lose their clothing, I get laid. Every damn Saturday night."

"So you only get laid on Saturday nights then?" Finn mocks as he tosses his fries back down on his plate.

"I didn't say that, I get laid plenty dude. But Saturday is my night."

"That's cool. You know what night mine is? Oh yeah that's right, I go to bed with someone every damn night. Every night is Finn's getting laid night!"

"Yeah well you aren't married yet. Just don't do that, because then you get cut off at the balls."

"Whatever." Finn says getting up to throw away his trash.

"You aren't getting married right?" Puck asks.

"No, I'm not getting married right now, but…"

"No fucking way dude. No way. Rachel is awesome and I love her to death but you've had sex with two women dude and one was a lesbian."

"Yeah I seem to recall you made that mistake too."

"All I'm saying is you don't know if you want to buy the farm if you've only had one cow on the lot."

"Dude you really are from Lima. I'm not going to start fucking a bunch of cows until I decide Rachel is the cow for me. What the hell does that even mean dude?" He says looking to Sam and me for help.

"I'm just saying, you can't settle down with the first girl that gives you head. You gotta experience everything there is to offer first. Then you can go back to Rachel and put on your shackles and die living in monogamy."

"We live in the city dude, we don't live in monogamy." Finn gets up and starts walking to the exit.

"What the fuck does that mean?" Puck asks me.

"Just forget it man. I'm not getting married right now, so this conversation is stupid. We gotta get back to the house. Are you guys going home?" Finn says looking at Sam and Puck.

"Nah, we'll be there tonight." Puck says as he holds up his fist and Finn bumps it with his.

He turns and walks to the truck and I run to catch up with him. When we get in the truck he's quiet. "What the hell does he know? He freaking knocked up my girlfriend in tenth grade and had to get his balls snipped."

I look over and see that Finn is really irritated.

"You know it doesn't matter what he says right? I know you care about Rachel. I see you two together every day. Sure you both haven't dated a lot of other people. But in the long run the only thing that matters is if you are happy with her."

"I am. I love Rachel. I don't want anyone else. Is there really anything wrong with that? I mean does that make me stupid or something?"

"No. It just means you learn faster than Puck." I laugh.

"Yeah that's not so hard to do though."

"So true." I say rolling my eyes.

"Look all I know is that when Rachel isn't around, I feel like a part of me is missing. And I know I'm young and I'm not saying I want to ask her to marry me tomorrow. But I know I want to marry her one day. And if that makes me crazy then so be it."

"And that's all that matters Finn. You are the only one who knows where you want your relationship with Rachel to go. Nothing anyone else says really matters."

"Thanks man. You really are a good friend."

"That's what I'm here for Finn. It's nice having someone I can talk to. I adore Kurt but sometimes you just need someone else to vent to or get advice from."

"Yeah I feel like that too. I mean Rachel is awesome. But sometimes I need another guy's opinion."

"Well I'm sure Puck would think that is part of the problem. You are getting your advice from a gay gay."

"Come on, I don't even think of it that way. You're a guy. That's all that matters in my book." He says reaching over to pat me on the shoulder.

"You're a good guy Finn. I know you are going to do whatever is right for you and Rachel."

When we get home Rachel and Kurt are both sitting on the floor watching 'Funny Girl' on TV. Finn and I roll our eyes but both walk into the living room and sit next to them. Kurt smiles and leans up against me as Rachel kisses Finn and sits in his lap. I look over at Finn and nod. We may both be settling down pretty early in life, but from the smiles on both of our faces, it doesn't seem like either one of us would want it any other way.


	17. Chapter 17

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 17**

**Finn POV**

"Baby you ok? You've been quiet since you got home today." I open my eyes and see Rachel looking up at me. She is lying with her head on my chest and her fingers are making circles on my stomach.

"Yeah I'm fine baby. Just not used to being around so many people I guess."

"Yeah it's so funny that we were worried about just the four of us moving away from every one and being lonely and now all I want to do is be back at the loft."

I look down at her face and smile at her. She's the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. I can't imagine going a day without knowing that the smile on her face is for me. I slide my thumb down her cheek and move a stray hair out of her face and hook it over her ear.

"I love you. You know that right?" I say softly.

"Of course Finn. I love you too." She smiles. "Are you sure you are ok?"

"You don't feel like you missed out on anything because you have only slept with me do you?" I ask unsure of whether I should bring it up or not.

"What?" She says as her head jerks up off my chest. "Where is this coming from? Of course I don't feel like I missed out on anything? DO YOU?"

"No baby, no. Relax. I just….I don't want you to feel like you wished you had been with other men before settling on me."

"There are no other men for me Finn Hudson. I'm happy you were my first, and as far as I am concerned you will be my only." She smiles up at me and my heart skips a beat.

"Ok. I just. I don't know."

"Who has you thinking like this? If it's Noah I will kill him." She says sitting up suddenly.

"Babe." I say reaching out for her hand. "It's nothing."

"You don't wish you had slept with more girls do you?"

"NO NO! Absolutely not. You are everything to me. You are all I want. I'm sorry. I just got worried when Puck started talking about all his chicks he's sleeping with and I was afraid that maybe I pushed you too quickly into just being with me."

"It was Puck, that little…." I lean over and kiss her quickly on the lips and she melts into my arms.

I hold her in my arms for what feels like hours until she falls asleep nestled on her side. I look down at her sleeping so peacefully in my arms and I feel like my heart is doing flip flops or something. I lean over and kiss her on the cheek and quietly leave the room. I walk down the hall and as I pass my mom's room I see her sitting at her desk.

"Hey mom." I say as I walk in the room.

"Finn, hey hun. Everything ok?" She says looking up from the computer.

"Mom, I've been thinking of doing something for a while and I need your advice."

"Is it legal?" She says smiling.

"MOM!" I shout.

"Ok ok, what is it?" She says turning around to give me her full attention.

"I want to marry Rachel." I say quickly shutting the door behind me.

"What? What about school Finn, what about Rachel's career, you just got to New York." She starts talking quickly.

"Woah, calm down, not right now mom. I just, I mean I want to marry her in the future. But it just seems like people think that's stupid cuz I've only really been…uh intimate with two girls."

"Well not to be rude or a mom or anything, but what does how many girls you have had sex with have to do with you getting married."

I can feel my face turning red. It's weird talking to my mom about this stuff. I mean I know she knows about Rachel and I having sex but actually talking about it with her is something totally different.

"Well I thought nothing, but Puck said…"

"That is your first problem if you think talking to Noah Puckerman about marriage is actually a good idea." She says crossing her arms.

"Is it weird that I'm like 18 and already know who I want to spend the rest of my life with?"

"Absolutely not. I got married young and I never doubted once that your father was the man for me."

I sigh and sit down on her bed and she gets up and walks over and sits next to me. "You love Rachel a lot don't you?"

"Yes mom, more than anything in this world. I can't imagine a day without her mom. I don't want any other girls; I only want to be with her."

I see her gasp softly and a tear falls from her eyes and I wonder if I said something wrong, but before I can ask, she smiles and stands up and walks over to her dresser and opens the top drawer. She pulls something from the drawer and walks back over to me and places the small box in my hand. I reach down and open the box and see a beautiful diamond ring. I look up at her confused.

"You're father gave me that ring when I was 19. It wasn't a lot, but it came from his heart. And when he gave it to me, he told me that I was the only woman he ever wanted to be with because he couldn't imagine a day without me."

I look back down at the ring and smile. My dad gave my mom this ring. "But mom, it's the only thing you have of dad." I say quietly.

"And that's why I want you to have it. Give it to Rachel when the time is right."

"How will I know when that is?" I ask.

"That part I can't tell you, but trust me, you'll just know."

"Thanks mom." I say closing the box and leaning over to hug her.

"Just promise me that when you are ready to give her that ring, there is nothing holding you back from giving her everything you have."

"I promise mom. And I promise you that I'm not rushing things. I just feel better knowing that I'm not crazy for feeling this way. I guess I just needed to tell you, because even though it's not happening right now, it is going to happen mom."

"I don't doubt that at all Finn. Rachel is a lovely girl and I will be very happy to have her as my daughter."

I lean over and hug her again and we both look up as someone knocks on the door. "Come in." My mom says as I push the ring box into my pocket.

"Everything ok in here?" Burt asks walking into the room and seeing my mom and I both wipe tears away from our eyes.

"Everything is fine dear. Finn and I were just catching up." She smiles at me and I get up from the bed and walk to the door.

"I just wanted to let you know that Puck and Sam are here." Burt says and I nod to my mom and walk out of the room.

I see Puck sitting on the couch. "Yo dude, we're gonna watch a movie you coming?"

"Yeah let me just check on Rachel real quick." I say as I climb the stairs and ignore Puck as he rolls his eyes.

I open the door slightly to my room and see Rachel lying on the bed still. I turn to leave when I hear her voice. "Don't go." I open the door again and step in to the room.

"I didn't want to wake you." I say as I walk over to the bed.

"It's ok, I wasn't sleeping. I just have this really bad headache." She says quietly holding her head.

"It's probably all the food from yesterday. Do you want me to get you some Advil?"

"Thank you baby." She says reaching up and touching my cheek and I grab her hand and kiss it. I walk to the bathroom and find some Advil in the cabinet and quickly pour a glass of water and carry it to the side of the bed and hand her the glass.

She sits up and takes the water and quickly takes the pills and I sit down beside her. "The guys are going to watch a movie. Do you want to come down?"

"No, I think I'm just going to sleep this off." She says lying back down on the pillow.

"Do you want me to stay here with you until you fall asleep?"

"No, baby you go be with your friends. I'll be fine." She says closing her eyes. I run my fingers across her cheek.

"I love you Rachel. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me." I say quietly. She looks back up at me smiling and takes my hand.

"I love you too Finn." She kisses my palm and then rolls back over on her pillow.

"Goodnight baby." I get up and turn off the bathroom light and quietly close the door behind me.

I turn around and see Puck leaning up against the wall outside the door. I sigh. "What? She's not feeling well. You wanna make fun of me for caring now?" I start to walk down the hall and he grabs my arm.

"Dude, I'm sorry. I get it alright. You love her. I'm glad she has you. She deserves someone like you." He says quietly.

"Thanks man."

"And if I'm being honest, a part of me is jealous."

"Hey I thought you were over Rachel." I say feeling a bit protective.

"No not of Rachel, but of what you two have." He shrugs his shoulders.

"I thought you liked that whole new woman every Saturday night." I chuckle.

"Yeah it's cool, but it's not often you find what you and Rachel have. I'll be lucky if I ever find that." He says as we start down the stairs.

"You'll find it one day dude. If I can find it, you can."

"That was one long pee man!" Sam interrupts us as we enter the living room.

"Shut it dude!" Puck says as he punches Sam in the arm and throws himself down on the couch. "Start the movie man! I hear there are some hot chicks in this flick."

I laugh as I sit down in the chair and smile over at Blaine who is reading a book next to Kurt.

The movie sucks and I spend most of it laughing at how Puck sits up every time a new girl comes into the shot. Near the end of the movie I feel a hand on my shoulder and I look up to see Rachel smiling down at me.

"Feeling better?" I ask as I pull her on to my lap.

"Yes very much, thank you." She says softly in my ear.

"Well that's about to change when you start watching this movie." I laugh into her ear.

"I heard you Finn. This movie is EPIC!" Puck yells.

"Yes it epically sucks." I shout back.

Rachel puts her head on my shoulder and I lean back into the chair with my arms wrapped around her. When Rachel asks for a glass of water, I lean over to get her my glass and my hand rubs against the box in my pocket. I hand her the glass and smile at her.

"What?" she asks.

"Nothing, I just really love you."

"I love you too baby." She whispers handing the glass back to me.

"Dude, how do you guys watch movies with all their vomit going on through the whole thing?" Puck asks Kurt.

"Now you feel my pain!" Kurt says clutching his chest.

Rachel tosses a throw pillow toward Puck and laughs.

I just sit back and smile and think about the ring in my pocket that one day is going to sit on her finger. I don't need to be with another girl to realize what I want, I have everything I need right here in my arms.


	18. Chapter 18

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 18**

**Kurt POV**

"Rachel we are going to be late if you don't hurry up." I holler up the stairs and I see Finn laughing as he comes down towards me from their room.

"Good luck buddy." He says as he pats me on the shoulder and keeps walking past me.

"What? Why?" I say turning toward him quickly.

"She's not exactly in a great mood dude." He laughs.

"Oh wonderful." I quickly make my way up the stairs and walk into Finn's room. "Rachel, darling, dearest friend of mine, are you ready to leave?"

"Do I look ready to leave?" She snaps.

"Ok what's wrong? You've been fine all week and now all of a sudden it's like you are channeling your inner Santana." I look over at her and she is holding up three shirts in front of her as she stares in the mirror.

"Which one looks less like a loser?" She says frowning.

"What are you talking about?" I ask walking over and pointing to the pink shirt.

"I thought when I went back to McKinley I would already be at Julliard. Now I'm going back to talk to the new Glee club and I have nothing to show for it."

"Rachel, you have everything to show. You are proof that dreams come true."

"That's bull Kurt. My dream was to go to Julliard." She pouts.

"Your dream was to move to New York and go to school to sing, and star in a play, and be happy with Finn. As far as I can tell you have done all three." I quickly zip up her skirt and hug her from behind as I look at her face in the mirror.

"I suck." She says frowning.

"Wow, talk about Ms. Negative. Would you like me to go downstairs and tell Finn that you feel like your life in New York sucks?" I see her eyes snap up to meet mine.

"I didn't say that." She says quickly.

"Well that sure seems to be what you are implying. Now, I'm going downstairs and getting ready to go to the high school. When you are done feeling sorry for yourself, you can join me." I turn and quickly walk out of the room not giving her a chance to reply.

"Well?" Finn says as I walk into the kitchen.

"Give her two minutes and she'll be ready to go." I say sitting down and staring at my watch.

"No way man, she was really in a nasty mood. I couldn't even get her to smile when I tried to….nevermind." Finn says as his cheeks turn red when his mom enters the kitchen.

"Well I didn't get her to smile either. But she'll be down here in…45 seconds." I say pointing to my watch.

"Yeah confidence killed the cat." Finn says as he pours milk into his cereal bowl.

"It's a good thing you are pretty." I say smiling at Finn and he looks up confused. "And 5, 4, 3, 2, 1…." I point to the door.

"Yeah nice try Kurt. Not seeing…"

"Ok let's go." Rachel says walking in the room and I look over and quickly stick my tongue out at Finn.

I hop up out of my chair and grab the keys to Finn's truck as I look over at him and he's nodding his head.

"How did you do that?" He says with his mouth half open.

"It's a gift." I laugh as I grab Rachel's hand and head for the door.

"Sorry about earlier." Rachel says as we start to leave the kitchen.

"HE GETS AN APOLOGY! Really?" Finn yells after us. "She threw a shoe at me." He says staring around the room at Burt and Carole who are laughing.

"Bye Finn." I yell back toward him as we exit the house laughing.

When we pull up to McKinley the first thing I notice is that nothing has changed. It's almost creepy how I feel like I'm late for school because everyone is already parked and inside. Rachel and I climb out of the truck and head into the building.

"Oh my goodness former students." We both turn around to see our old Principal standing in the hallway staring at us.

"Yep We're back!" I announce. "We are just here to see Mr. Schue."

"Yes yes, you know where to find him. Nice to see you kids." He says as he wanders off after some students standing around in the halls.

We follow the familiar hallway toward the choir room we know and love so well. As we approach the door we see a group of kids standing up and singing. It's not bad but it's really not good either. I push my head in the door and Mr. Schue waves us in. We stand in the back as the group finishes their song and Mr. Schue walks over.

"Class you are in for a treat! Some of you were here last year when these two repeated as two time National show choir champions. Please welcome Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry."

The class claps and we recognize a few of the kids from the end of the year recruitment we did to find replacements when we graduated last year. It feels really different to come back and see people in the seats you used to occupy.

"Kurt and Rachel have been living out their dreams in New York City and I wanted to bring them here to show you that if you work hard your dreams can come true too. So Kurt, Rachel, tell us all about New York."

Rachel points to me so I step up and face the class. "Well as he said, I know some of you. My name is Kurt Hummel and right now I'm going to The Julliard School in New York. It's very challenging and I would advise that you work really hard in this room to perfect your singing if that is a goal you want to achieve. You should also learn to deal well with others." I say laughing loudly.

"My roommate is a very nice, but very different girl named Max and it took me a long time to get used to her. And the same little squabbles you have in here over a solo, that doesn't stop either." I laugh looking over at Rachel. "I still fight every day for leads and songs. So learn how to deal with people as it comes in very handy. Just take Rachel and I. If you had told me a couple of years ago that I would move to New York with Rachel Berry and she would be one of my best friends, I probably would have asked to have you committed."

I look over at Rachel and smile and she takes my hand. "But sometimes you just have to put jealousy and difference aside and look underneath for that gold mine in someone's soul. You just might surprise yourself when you get to know them."

Mr. Schue looks around the class at a few of his students and points to them.

"But I think I'll let Rachel take it from here." I move to the side and Rachel steps to the center.

"Hi, I'm Rachel Berry and when I was sitting where you are, I was determined I was going to be a star. I'm not going to stand up here and tell you that I went to New York and everything worked out how it was supposed to and I got discovered and I already got my first role on Broadway, because that would be a lie." She looks up at Mr. Schue and smiles softly.

"What I am going to tell you is that sometimes you get the dream you never knew you wanted and sometimes you don't get everything you want right when you want it. I didn't get into Julliard, but I did get in to a wonderful Conservatory in Brooklyn. I didn't get discovered by Broadway…YET…but I did get my first starring role in Peter Pan the Musical that was a raging success. But most importantly, I got to New York with the love of my life and my best friends." She looks over at me. "And I'm lucky to have the most amazing friends who are there to remind me of everything I have when even I can't see it. So remember to always work hard, because even when you don't think you got what you were looking for, you might just look again and see that you actually got exactly what you needed."

The bell rings and the class claps and runs off to their next classes as Mr. Schue asks us all kinds of questions about New York and school and how things are going. We finally say our goodbyes and head out to lunch. Rachel is talking nonstop about how small the school looked and how weird it was going back there when I see a familiar face walk in to Breadstix.

"Don't look now but crazy train at 11:00." Rachel looks at me confused.

"What is on at 11:00?" She says.

"NO CRAZY TRAIN AT 11:00" I mouth just as she walks up behind Rachel. "QUINN!" I shout and Rachel jumps up out of her seat.

"Kurt, Rachel. How nice to see you." She says smiling like the crazy lunatic I know she is.

"Quinn." Rachel says surprised. "I didn't know you were in town still."

"Oh I'm surprised Finn didn't tell you, I've seen him a few times and had lunch with him the day after Thanksgiving." Oh crap. I look at Rachel and she barely flinches but I can tell someone is going to have words tonight.

"Oh well, things have been pretty busy since I got to town. I'm sure it slipped his mind." She says smiling.

"Oh well you know Finn, he never remembers the important stuff." Quinn shoots back at her.

Rachel's eyes squint and she starts to say something but stops herself. "Well it's been really really wonderful seeing you again. Maybe we'll see you before we head back to New York. We really must be going." She grabs the check and stands up from the booth. I jump up and nod at Quinn and follow Rachel to the register.

"Ok just relax." I say as she stops walking.

"They had LUNCH!" She says gritting her teeth.

"I didn't know that. I really didn't. Look you know Quinn. Don't freak out until you talk to Finn."

She pays the check and marches out to the truck. I'm dreading going home. It's mildly annoying when Finchel makes out in front of me, but it's really uncomfortable when they get mad at each other. There is one thing that both Finn and Rachel have and that's passion. And their fights are full of it.

So it doesn't surprise me that as soon as we get to the house Rachel storms the front door like the beaches at Normandy. Finn is sitting in the living room with Puck, Sam and Blaine playing some video game where you kill aliens and they all look up as she barges in the door.

"Hey babe." Finn says cheerfully as she enters the house.

"Don't you hey babe me!" She yells. Everyone looks around at each other and Blaine immediately looks at me knowing there is going to be trouble. Sam looks nervous and Puck looks excited to be witnessing the argument.

"Um, what's wrong?" Finn says standing up from the chair.

"What's wrong? WHAT'S WRONG? Did you forget to mention something? I don't know, maybe something small Finn. Something that maybe slipped your mind?"

"Um, no. But I'm guessing you think I have. Do you want to go upstairs and talk?" He says trying to get Rachel to leave the room.

"No I really don't. But you really didn't think you needed to mention to me that you had lunch with her?"

"With who?" he says confused and for a second I feel like maybe Finn has no clue what she is talking about.

"Don't play stupid Finn, I know you aren't stupid. There isn't maybe a lunch with a certain blonde you left out when I got here?" Finn's face drops and you can see him piecing stuff together.

"Wait, Quinn?"

"YES QUINN!" She shouts.

Finn looks at the guys confused. "We didn't have lunch. I mean I saw her at the food court and she came over but we didn't have lunch with her. Why did you think we had lunch?"

"You didn't think to mention to me that you ran into your ex-girlfriend? MORE THAN ONCE?"

"No but I'm thinking maybe I should have."

"MAYBE YOU SHOULD HAVE? MAYBE?" Rachel turns and storms up the stairs and I hear the bedroom door slam.

"We uh, ran into Quinn at Breadstix and of course she had to rub it in to Rachel that the two of you caught up at lunch while she was still in New York." I say filling Finn in on the details.

"Man, what the heck is wrong with that chick. I swear it's like she just wants to ruin any happiness I have." Finn slams back down into his chair.

"I'll go talk to her." I say.

"Yeah you know she won't talk to me for at least an hour." Finn says and Blaine shakes his head in agreement.

I head up the stairs and knock on the door. "Go away Finn."

"It's me." I say into the door and suddenly the door swings opens and Rachel is standing there with tears in her eyes.

"Why does Quinn always make me feel like this?"

I put my arms around her and walk over to the bed with her and sit down. "Because she hates her life. She wants what you have and she has no way of getting that because she's an evil troll who will never be happy unless she ruins someone else's happiness."

"She still looks pretty." Rachel sobs.

"Yes well we can't have everything we want, remember."

Rachel laughs and someone clears their throat behind us. We look up and see Puck standing in the doorway.

"Uh hey, can I just say something?"

"Sure Noah." Rachel says sniffling and Puck walks in and stands against the dresser.

"We did run in to Quinn at the mall. But Finn wanted nothing to do with her. And I'm sure he just forgot to mention it because honestly you are all he talks about. I pick on him because he seems so crazy over you, but really he's just totally in love with you Rachel. You're my girl and you know if I thought he was keeping stuff from you I would totally kick his ass, but honestly, he's avoided all things Quinn and trust me, girl was trying, but he only has eyes for you."

"Why are you telling me this?" Rachel asks quietly.

"Because Finn's a good guy and you don't need to let Quinn draw you back in to that high school bullshit. You two have something that the rest of us can only hope to find in our lifetime. I just didn't want you to forget that."

Rachel stands up and walks over to hug Puck. "Thank you, it seems I have needed my friends to remind me of a lot of stuff today. I'm very thankful I have you both to keep me in line." She says as she walks out of the room.

"They really are insane about each other aren't they?" He asks me.

"You have NO idea!" I laugh.

When we get back to the living room, Finn and Rachel are standing in the middle of the room hugging. "Baby I'm so sorry I forgot to tell you."

"No Finn, I shouldn't have gotten all upset and yelled at you."

"I love you so much." Finn says leaning over to kiss her.

"I love you too." Rachel says between kisses.

"Now you guys get to witness what Blaine and I put up with every single day. Finchel overload!" I announce and Finn and Rachel both pull apart and look at us embarrassed.

"Um, can you excuse us for a second?" Finn says pulling Rachel by the hand up the stairs. "I uh just want to talk to Rachel about…" Rachel doesn't let him finish but drags him the rest of the way up the stairs.

"Well give them about an hour and they'll be back all happy and giddy." I say sitting down next to Blaine.

"An HOUR! Damn, Finn sure cleared up his mailman problem!" Puck shouts as the rest of the room breaks into laughter.


	19. Chapter 19

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 19**

**Rachel POV**

"This tree is huge!" Kurt yells from the other side of the tree lot.

I feel Finn squeeze my hand as he pulls me in the direction of Kurt. "Hey." He says softly looking down at me.

"Hey." I giggle.

"You've been quiet since we got here."

"Really? I'm sorry. I just…I was just remembering stuff." I say looking down the aisles.

"I kinda thought you might be." He says looking down at his feet.

I lean over and wrap my arm around his. "It is cuddle weather though." I giggle.

"I shouldn't have left you here by yourself that night." He says quietly.

"Finn, it was my fault. I shouldn't have pushed you."

He stops walking and looks down at me. "If it matters, I totally asked Santa for you that year. I mean I asked for him to keep you safe until I could stop being so angry."

I smile at him. "Well I'm glad he listened to you."

"Oh he had to; I wouldn't leave the line until he talked to me."

"Line? What line?"

"The line those kids wait in. I stayed there until he let me come up and talk to him." He says starting to walk again.

"Wait, you actually went to Santa?"

"Yeah. That's how it works right?" He says raising his eyebrows at me.

I stop walking and pull him down by the scarf so that his lips brush against mine. "I love you." I whisper against his lips and I feel them curl up in a smile as he kisses me.

"Would you guys just stop for two seconds and look at the tree!" Kurt yells from the end of the aisle.

Finn laughs and pulls me toward Kurt and he wasn't kidding, the tree is huge.

"Will this even fit in the truck?" I ask Finn.

"Is that a challenge?" He says looking over at Kurt and Blaine.

"No absolutely not, I'm serious; I don't think it will fit." I say staring at the tree.

"I think she is challenging us Finn." Blaine laughs.

Kurt and I laugh as Blaine and Finn try shoving the tree into the back of the truck and finally leave it sticking out of the sides of the truck and Blaine gets trapped in the back when Finn shoves the tree toward the cab.

"Um, do I just stay back here?" Blaine asks.

"Yeah uh sorry about that. Uh it's not a long ride."

Kurt laughs as Finn climbs in the truck and he shrugs his shoulders at Blaine and climbs in beside me.

Getting the tree in the house was actually even harder than the truck. "So we going to admit the tree was too big yet?" I ask crossing my arms.

"No. It will fit." Finn says shoving it through the front door as pine bristles go flying everywhere.

Suddenly the tree goes flying through the door and Finn topples over on top of it.

"OUCH!" I hear Blaine yell from somewhere underneath the tree. I look over at Kurt who is holding in his laughter and I bite my lip so that I don't start myself. Finn climbs up and looks over at us.

"Hey, it's in the door!" He announces.

"Yes but did you kill Blaine in the process?" Kurt asks walking through the door to help Blaine up off the floor.

We had to cut the top of the tree off to get it to fit in the living room but it does look pretty once we have all finished decorating it. Even with Puck's beer cap garland he added, the tree looks pretty awesome.

By the time Christmas comes the snow has coated the yard and everyone spends the day building snow men out front before actually opening presents It's funny how things change as you get older.

Of course there is a huge snowball fight where Kurt and I actually win because we trick the boys into thinking we have given up before going on an all-out attack. Finn finally carries me back to the house over his shoulder when his mom calls us all in to open gifts.

Burt and Carole give the four of us money for groceries and a recipe book of easy vegan meals on a budget which Finn groans at.

"Mom, really? Trust me; she feeds me enough good-for-you stuff. Don't encourage her."

"Well I feel better knowing she takes care of you and doesn't let you pig out on pizza every night." Carole says handing the recipe book over to me instead of Finn.

"Our turn." Puck announces as he hands a package to Finn.

Finn tears open the package and immediately turns red. "Wow. Thanks a lot guys!" He says as he holds up the stuffed cookie monster.

"That's so cute Finn, you always did like cookie monster. I think I remember buying you some underpants with him."

"Mom please! No one wants to talk about my underwear." Finn protests.

"No please, let's talk about them." Puck laughs and I give him a very dirty look.

Sam walks over and hands me a package. "It's for your own good Rachel." He says as he puts it in my hands.

I look down at the package and tear it open. I feel my own face turn red and hot and Finn looks over at me confused. "Th..thank you guys. A flip cam. How sweet." I say gritting my teeth.

"Well we thought if you had one of those, you could use your webcam to talk to us and the flip cam for all your other…um…activities. That way it doesn't clutter your desktop." Sam says holding in laughter.

"Isn't that sweet of you boys." Carole says looking at the camera.

"Yeah what a sweet gift." Finn says staring at them both like he wants to beat them.

"You will have to video tape yourselves and send it home." Carole announces and everyone looks up quickly at her.

"Oh I don't know if you can handle the whole Finchel package Mrs. H." Puck says seriously and I squeeze my eyes shut. "I mean they are kind of annoying you know with all the I-love-you crap." He laughs as he looks over at Finn.

"Oh you know I find that adorable. You better be sending me some videos Finn."

"Yes mom." Finn says looking at me with a grin.

"Ok my turn." I jump up changing the subject.

I walk over and grab the package for Finn. "Here you go."

He looks at the long box and starts to rip into the package. I bite my lip as he unwraps the gift from the paper in the box. I felt stupid getting him something that was used, but when my instructor said he knew Tico Torres I just knew I had to ask.

"Rach, where did you get these?" He asks staring up at me with his mouth open.

"My instructor went to school with him and one day they were going to lunch together and I just had to ask."

"Holy crap. You mean you got these directly from him." He asks.

"Well I mean he didn't have them on him when I met him but he sent them to school the next day with my instructor. I told him you were a drummer. And that you loved watching him play."

"Ok I'm really confused, can someone clue me in on who Tico whatever is and why we are happy we have his old sticks." Kurt says from the other side of the room.

"Tico Torres, the drummer from Bon Jovi, these are HIS sticks." Finn says amazed. "Babe, this is amazing. Seriously, you are amazing." He says as he leans over and kisses me suddenly.

I giggle and smile back at him as his mom sighs again from the couch.

"Ok me now." He says pulling back and jumping up to look under the tree.

He hands me the package and sits down beside me. I unwrap the package and see that Finn has made a few more pages for our scrapbook. This one has a picture of the four of us standing in front of the loft with all our boxes. Under the photo it says 'Brand New Start'. The next page is of Finn and I at Central Park on one of our picnics with the title 'Home'. I turn the page again and see one of me on the opening night of Peter Pan. Beneath the photo Finn wrote 'My star'.

"One more page." He says.

I flip it over and see a page in all pink with just words on it. It is titled, 'My Commitment to you'

Finn grabs the page from me and stands up. "I want to read it." He says proudly.

He clears his throat.

'_Rachel, I may not always be the brightest man_

_And there are things you do that I don't understand._

_Sometimes I'm difficult and cause a fight_

_When I don't agree that you are always right._

_But there is one thing that remains the same_

_One day I promise to give you my last name._

_Right now we are young and people don't see our point of view_

_But today I'm making this commitment to you._

_I'll love you forever, you'll never be alone_

_Two hearts, one soul, and an entire world for us to own._

_Love Finn'_

The tears are rolling down my face as he pulls a small box from his pocket and sets it on my knee.

"FINN!" Carole says quietly. "I thought.."

"Mom, relax." He says before turning back to me. "Rachel, we have a lot of stuff going on for us now. And I know that we aren't ready to move past what we have right now. But I just felt like I needed to make you understand what you mean to me and what this relationship means to me and our future." He opens the box and a simple gold band is sitting in the case. He pulls out the ring and grabs my hand.

"Rachel, this is my promise to you, that no matter what, you will always be the one for me. That you are my heart and soul. And one day, I want to marry you in front of everyone we know. To proudly have you as my wife. But until that day, this is my commitment to you." He slides the ring on my finger as the tears fall from both of our eyes and I lean over and wrap my arms around his neck. I look at the ring on my finger and see that it is engraved with the words "My commitment to you"

"I love you so much Finn." I whisper in his ear.

"I love you too baby." He says as he pulls back and softly kisses my lips.

Everyone in the room is either crying or smiling. I look over and see that even Puck has a tear in his eye and I smile at him as he winks at me.

"Ok, before everyone gets sick from our happiness." Finn says he reaches down and grabs a package that he tosses over to Puck.

Puck rips open the package. "Oh wow you got me the extra-large package too."

"Glow in the dark extra strong." Finn laughs as Puck holds up his box of condoms.

"Finn Hudson!" Carole yells.

"What? I got him something I know he'll use." Finn says acting innocent.

As the group continues opening gifts, Carole taps me on the shoulder. "Can I talk to you for a second sweetie?"

I follow her out to the kitchen and she turns around and grabs a package off the counter. "I wanted to give you this in private."

I take the package from her and open it quickly. "Carole. I don't know what to say."

"Finn told me that you had a wall in your room that he was putting all the reviews from your plays you will be in. He said right now the wall is bare. But I don't want you to forget what's important and what you mean. Reviews are nice, but belonging is better."

I look down at the photo of me and Carole last year at Christmas. Below the picture are the words "Daughter" I throw my arms around her and hug her.

"Thank you so much. This is the most amazing thing in the world." I say.

"Well, I just want you to know that you always have me. You're one of my own Rachel. And I know one day Finn will bring you home as his wife, but you're already a part of our home."

We quietly slip back in to the room and I set the photo down next to my scrapbook and Finn looks over at it and then smiles up at his mom. He takes my hand and I can see him run his hand over the ring on my finger. He leans over and kisses my cheek. "Happy Holidays baby."

"You too sweetie."

Hours later when the gifts have been opened and dinner has been served I slip away to my bedroom and place the gifts from Finn and his mom on the dresser. I smile as I open my suitcase and quickly slip into the surprise I got for Finn.

It takes him twenty minutes until I hear him slide the door open and when he turns after shutting the door his face brightens in a very big smile.

"Hey there." I giggle.

"Um….wow." He says.

"Well I figured since you had a thing for Santa, you might want to talk to Santa this year."

"I think I would prefer if this Santa sat on MY lap." He says lifting me up off the bed and placing me in his lap. "And I'm pretty sure I can think of something besides talking." He grins.

"Well if you are a good boy, Santa just might give you another present." I say as I run my hands down to his belt buckle.

"Oh Santa, I've been a real good boy this year."


	20. Chapter 20

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 20**

**Blaine POV**

"I can't believe it's already time for you to leave."

"Mom, it's been a month. Trust me; it's time for us to leave." Finn says to his mom as he puts the suitcases in the trunk.

"Well I'm going to miss you." Kurt says to Carole. "It's been nice having someone else cook for a while that wasn't Finn." He laughs.

"Hey! I think I cook just fine!" Finn says throwing one of the bags at Kurt.

Rachel comes out of the house with her small bag and throws it in the back seat. "I get the back seat for a bit." She giggles.

"Shotgun." I yell before Kurt can say it.

"Dangit. I guess I'm napping with Rachel in the back." Kurt sighs.

Finn walks over and fist bumps me as Kurt hugs his dad and Carole goodbye.

"It was very nice being with your family for the holidays." I say as I walk over to Burt and Carole.

"You are welcome anytime dear." Carole says grabbing me and pulling me in to a big hug.

"Yes definitely." Burt says offering his hand to me.

"Promise me you won't send me any flip cam videos!" Puck says to Rachel as she hits him in the arm.

"Very funny." She giggles.

"No seriously. I mean it!" He laughs.

Rachel hugs Puck and Sam with tears in her eyes as Finn nods to them both. Finally they break apart and Finn walks Rachel to the car.

I climb into the front seat as Rachel and Kurt jump in back. Finn hugs his mom for the last time and gets in the driver's side to start the car.

"Let's get this road trip started." He yells.

"I'm taking a nap." Rachel announces.

"Rach, you can't just sleep on a road trip. We have to play games." Finn whines in the rear view mirror to Rachel.

"But I'm tired baby. SOMEONE kept me up all night."

"Yes we know, apparently God was doing heavenly things to Rachel last night." Kurt says from the back seat.

Finn turns to me confused. "OH GOD." I mouth to him.

"OH." He says turning back to the road with his cheeks reddening.

Rachel leans her head on Kurt's shoulder. "Ok Finn, what kind of game do we play?" she asks yawning.

"Ok for every letter of the alphabet we have to find something on the road. Whoever guesses gets to pick the next person to find something."

"Seriously? This is your idea of fun?" She mocks him from the back seat.

"It is fun? Right? I mean we played it on the trip up. It was fun right?"

I smile at him but don't answer.

"Sure Finn. It was a blast." Kurt says. "I'll go first. A is for automobile. Now I choose Finn."

Kurt lays his head down on Rachel's shoulder and closes his eyes.

"You always get the easy one!" Finn complains.

"B is for…" He looks all around the car looking for something that starts with the letter B.

"BUS FINN! The dang bus. Why must you take so long when it's right in front of you?" Kurt yells.

"Ok Fine! If you want to hate on my game, you pick one."

"Can we please just sleep Finn?" Rachel asks.

"Fine. Sleep. I'll just talk to Blaine!" He pouts.

Rachel and Kurt both high five each other and lean back and close their eyes.

"Kids these days." I joke. After an hour Finn finally starts a conversation that doesn't include food.

"I can't believe we are playing for New Year's Eve." Finn says looking back at Rachel sleeping in the back seat.

"Yeah, pretty exciting. I wonder how big the crowd will be. Playing a rooftop gig on New Year's in New York is pretty epic."

"It's gonna be totally awesome."

"C for cat." Finn says suddenly pointing at a cat running along the side of the road.

I laugh and point to the other side. "D for driveway."

"See this game doesn't suck!" He says proudly.

We get all the way through to X when Finn decides he doesn't want to play anymore. I tease him because he always stops at X when it's his turn. We are halfway home when the two in the back start to stir.

"I have to pee." Rachel announces.

"Finn doesn't stop unless you are about to pee on the seat." Kurt mocks.

"That only applies to you!" Finn says pulling off at the nearest exit.

"Whatever!" Kurt says rolling his eyes.

We pull up to the truck stop and park near the front of the building.

"You don't expect me to go by myself do you?" Rachel says quietly.

"Rach, we're all guys. We can't go in with you." Finn laughs.

"No but you can walk me to the bathroom. What if someone tried to kidnap or rape me?" She says seriously.

"Ok ok, I'll take you to the bathroom." Finn jumps out and lets Rachel out of the car. "Do any of you have to go?"

"Nah." I say as I look back at Kurt who is still trying to wake up.

They walk around the side of the building and disappear from view.

"So how are you sleepy head?" I ask Kurt.

"Still sleepy. How are you? Did you get past X this time?"

"Of course not. Finn always quits at X." I laugh.

"I'm surprised he gets that far. So did you enjoy the holidays?" Kurt asks.

"It was amazing. I never really got a lot of family time during the holidays. My parents are always gone. It was nice to just relax and enjoy a home cooked meal and friendly company."

"I'm sorry your parents aren't around."

"Nah, it's ok. I mean sure it would be nice to see them more often, but I have you now." I've never felt closer to anyone the way I do Kurt. And having Finn and Rachel around is like having a brother and sister. "We've created a lovely home the four of us."

"Yeah. It's nice." Kurt says leaning back against the seat again. "Speaking of our family, what the heck is taking so long?"

"I can go check on them; I need to go anyway now."

I climb out of the car and walk toward the direction that Finn and Rachel headed. Neither one of them are around. I see the open men's room and quickly head in to use the restroom. When I come out I see a few women coming out of the ladies room.

"Can you believe that? They were totally going at it!" One of the girls is saying.

"I can't believe they didn't lock the door. Who wears cookie monster underwear at that age?"

I close my eyes and lean up against the wall. Yeah, the laughs never stop in this family. After a few minutes pass Rachel and Finn both come out of the bathroom pulling at their clothes.

"You told me you locked it." Rachel is saying staring up at Finn.

"No I said 'lock the door' and you said yes." Finn says yelling after her.

"Exactly Finn, I said YES, as in YES LOCK THE DOOR!"

"OH!"

"I can't take you two anywhere!" I say from behind them causing them both to jump and turn around quickly.

"Um, Rach just needed me to check to see if there was anyone hiding in there." Finn says looking at Rachel and then back to me.

"Yes, I was scared to go in alone without him checking the stalls first." Rachel says nodding her head.

"And…then you just sort of tripped and ended up having sex with her?" I say looking over at Finn.

"Yes, er what?" Finn asks confused.

I point to the ladies still staring at us as they walk back inside the gas station. "Yeah the cookie monster underwear was a real hit again. You might want to sell those on eBay when you are done with them, they are becoming quite famous." I grin as I walk back toward the car.

"I see you found them." Kurt says as I climb in the back seat with him.

"You could say that." I laugh.

"No. They weren't." He asks shocked.

"Oh they were." I say as they climb back in the car.

"What?" Rachel asks Kurt as she leans back to grab her blanket.

"In the bathroom? Really? You couldn't wait the 3 more hours until we got home? Do you guys need therapy or something?" Kurt asks her.

"Oh hush Kurt! No one needs therapy. We are simply two healthy adults in an active relationship." She says looking over at Finn who is nodding in agreement.

"Hunni, you two are so active I'm surprised a baby isn't born every time you go into a room alone with each other."

"Very funny Kurt!" Rachel says as Finn pulls back out onto the highway.

When we finally arrive at the loft everyone is happy to be home. Finn and I carry the suitcase up the stairs as Kurt and Rachel start unpacking everything.

"Ok I definitely don't feel like cooking." I say as I finally throw myself down on the couch.

"Pizza please?" Finn begs.

"Ok fine, you can have pizza tonight. But we are going to cook out of your mom's new cookbook tomorrow." Rachel says walking over to get the phone. Finn groans and grabs the cookbook and puts it up on the top shelf in the living room.

"Maybe she won't see it if I put it out of reach." He laughs.

"Maybe you won't eat at all if you don't stop being such a baby." Rachel says slapping Finn on the butt as she walks past him into the kitchen.

My phone buzzes in my pocket and I quickly get up and leave the room to answer it.

"Hello Blaine Anderson speaking."

"Blaine, how are you?"

"Sir, I wasn't expecting to hear from you. Is everything ok?" I am surprised to hear the voice of my boss on the line.

"Oh everything is really well Blaine. I just wanted to call and let you know that we have given you a new mentor at work. I'm afraid we had to let Mr. Smith go." My ears perk up out of curiosity of my former nemesis no longer working for the firm.

"Oh I'm sorry to hear that sir." I say faking a voice of sincerity.

"Well it was unfortunate but sometimes you just need to part ways with certain types. However, we wanted to let you know that your new mentor is one of our best. So we hope you learn a lot from her."

"Yes sir, I look forward to it." I say as we finish the phone call.

I hang up the phone and run back out to the living room. "He's gone! The jackass is gone!" I shout.

"Excuse me?" Rachel says looking around the room.

"Mr. Smith. Gone from the firm. I have a new mentor."

Finn jumps up from the couch and high fives me. "That's awesome dude. Maybe now you can actually learn your job."

"So you get a new mentor?"

"Yeah apparently she's some shark from the firm. Should be interesting." I say.

We all head up to the roof with full plates after our pizza arrives. "I sure did miss this city." Rachel says staring down at the street below.

Finn walks up behind her. "I missed it too. I've really grown to love it here."

"Weird right? I mean I love Lima, but New York just feels like home now." Kurt says reaching over to grab my hand.

"Thank you guys." I say suddenly and they all turn to look at me.

"For what dude?" Finn asks.

"For being my family. I'm glad I have you guys to come home too."

"Awww." Rachel says walking over and wrapping her arms around me. "We love you too Blaine."

"Ok back off girly." Kurt laughs as he jumps up and sits on my lap. "The hot sexy one is mine."

"Hey, what does that make me?" Finn asks raising his eyebrow at Kurt.

"The other guy." Kurt laughs.

"Well, I happen to think the other guy is pretty delicious." Rachel coos as she wraps her arms around Finn's neck while reaching up on her tip toes to kiss his cheek.

"So your excuse for the bathroom today is that you were hungry and Finn was delicious?" Kurt asks.

"Dude, you went there, I didn't." Finn says spinning Rachel around and sitting her down on the chair.

"What did I say?" Kurt asks me.

"Kurt darling, you really are sweet and innocent aren't you?" I say pinching his cheeks. "But I don't think that was what they were caught doing."

"I don't get it. All I said was…." Kurt looks over at me and puts his hand to his mouth. "Oh sweet baby Jesus that was not what I meant. God you guys are perverts."

"I'm not a pervert, I'm just magically delicious." Finn says grinning.

"You're too big to be an elf." Kurt mocks.

Finn grins and winks at him, "That's what she said."


	21. Chapter 21

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 21**

**Finn POV**

"Are Rachel and Kurt here yet? They are going to miss the show?"

"Finn, relax. I just talked to them on the phone; they are coming up the elevator now." Blaine is setting up some of the band's equipment on the stage. We are set up on the rooftop of "The Perk" for our New Year's Eve show. This is our first real show with a paying audience so I'm kind of nervous.

"Dude, take this." Kyle says handing me a glass.

"What is it?" I grab the glass from his hand and take a sniff. "Woah that smells awful."

"Just drink it. It will calm you down." He says.

I take a swig and feel the burn as it travels down my throat and I choke. "Oh my God what was that?"

Blaine quickly downs his and makes a face. "That was strong Kyle." He laughs.

"And good for you!" he pulls a flask from his jacket and pours three more shots.

I look around and see the crowd starting to fill in and I feel myself start to panic again so I quickly down the shot. I can't stop the face I make the second time around either.

From the other side of the room I see Rachel and Kurt walking toward us. I quickly walk over to her.

"Where have you been? I thought you were going to be late."

"Are you kidding?" She yells. "Did you see the traffic coming in here?"

She leans up to hug me. "Why do you smell like antifreeze?" She says holding her nose.

"Something Kyle gave us to relax." We walk back over to join the group and Rachel gives Kyle a dirty look.

"Do you think it's smart to be drinking before you perform?" She lectures Kyle.

"Wow, you need this shot more than me." He says shoving the drink into her hand.

Rachel looks at me and frowns. "It's New Year's babe." I shrug. Slowly she raises the glass to her lips and then dips her head back and swallows the liquid.

"Gross!" She complains wiping her mouth.

"What did you just drink?" Kurt says walking over to her.

"Piss I think?" She says sticking her tongue out wiping it with her hand.

"Ok go see Tiff, she'll get you something you'll like." Kyle says to Rachel. "But the boys and I," He says putting his arms around Blaine and me, "We have some entertaining to do. Go big or go home." He says holding up the flask. Everyone takes a swig and we settle in to start the show.

Performing on top of the roof in the middle of New York on New Year's Eve is better than freaking everything in the world. Ok not better than if I was having sex on top of the roof in New York on New Year's Eve, but it's a definite second place. Or maybe third because getting a blow job up here would pretty much rock my world too. Ok it's definitely in my top five.

We finish our set about ten minutes before the ball drops and we can see Times Square from the rooftop.

"Finny! Finnnnny!" I hear Rachel yelling for me. I turn around and she collides into my chest.

"Rach, where have you been?" I ask looking down at her. She's grinning and sipping on a colorful drink with about 3 umbrellas in it. "What you got there?" I laugh.

"Rainblows." She says slurring her word.

"How many of those have you had baby?" I question.

"Um. Three or maybe Si..seven?" She says looking around. "Kuuuurt." She hollers.

Kurt comes running over to her. "Rachy Rach Rachers."

"Wow you too huh?" I grin. Blaine walks up to us and looks over at Kurt confused.

"Babe are you ok?" He asks Kurt.

"I'm perfectermoso." He says tipping over to the side as Blaine grabs his arm.

"Drinks on me." Kyle yells as he walks over to us with his hands full of glasses.

"I think the wonder twins have had enough." I say smiling at Rachel.

"Finny, it's New Year's. Stop being a baby." Rachel says grabbing a glass from Kyle's hand and handing it to me.

I shake my head at her but down the glass quickly.

"Oh lights!" Kurt screams and runs to the side of the building.

"Almost midnight." Blaine says as we walk over toward where Kurt has headed and down another drink.

Rachel slides up beside me and runs her hands under my shirt. "My hands are cold." She giggles.

"You can warm them up on me any day." I say leaning over to kiss her lips. They taste sweet but definitely potent.

"A toast!" Kyle says holding out his flask and filling our glasses with something that smells like it came out of my truck. "To One Night Stand. The best one show band I have ever been in."

"Here here." Blaine says holding up his glass and then swallowing.

"To friends." Kurt giggles.

"To an amazing year and many more to come." I say as I down the liquid and feel the burn travel down my chest.

Rachel's hands find their way to the back of my neck and she quickly pulls me down toward her and her lips crash against mine and I feel her tongue slide across my bottom lip and push its way into my mouth. I don't fight her and I can feel the alcohol buzzing in my brain and I feel kind of dizzy but enjoy the feel of her hands exploring my chest.

"FInchel makeout." Kurt yells and starts clapping loudly. "Go go go go. Get some girl." He giggles and Blaine grabs his arm and pulls him toward the other side of the building to watch the ball in Times Square.

I drag Rachel over to the wall and push her back up against it as my mouth trails down her neck, breathing heavily into her ear "I want you right here." She moans against me and I hear Kyle clear his throat behind me.

"How much more do I need to give you two before you actually start fucking up against that wall?"

Rachel pulls away and starts giggling. "Give me another drink and let's find out." Ok this could get dangerous.

"The ball is dropping, get your horny asses over here and watch." Blaine yells.

We all run over to the side of the building and watch as the New Year gets closer and closer to us. I lean over and grab Rachel's face in my hand. "I love you Rachel."

"I love you to Finny." She giggles as I bring my lips down to hers and I hear people yelling in the back ground "HAPPY NEW YEARS"

The next thing I know I'm covered in sticky champagne and Kurt is screaming and drinking whatever is left of the bottle. Rachel climbs up on top of the table and starts dancing and Kurt joins her as they both laugh and continue to down whatever Kyle hands them.

"Well if you can't control em' you might as well join them." Blaine says as we both down another shot.

I don't know how much time passes or how many shots later until we leave, but eventually we find ourselves in a cab laughing all the way to our loft. It took us three tries to get the cab to the right place because Rachel kept yelling out random addresses until the cab driver got angry and demanded to see Blaine's driver's license with our address on it.

"Would you two wait to have sex until we get in the building?" Kurt says giggling on the stairwell.

Rachel has already removed her shoes and put them in her purse and she's pulling on my shirt buttons. "Why do you have to have so many buttons Finn? You are sexy; you shouldn't even wear a shirt anymore."

I laugh as I pick her up and her legs wrap around my waist and I lean her against the wall. I don't even care where we are I just know that I need to feel her mouth against mine right now.

"Duuuuuuuuuude who has the keys?" Blaine says pulling his pockets inside out and sitting down on the stairs.

"Rachel has the keys." I say between kisses.

"No I gave them to Kurt." She sighs.

Kurt opens the door to the hall and I put Rachel down and follow Kurt to the door. "Keys Keys who has the keys." Kurt says as he pulls a set of keys from his pocket and starts to unlock the door.

"Open the door Kurt." I say looking down at Rachel and licking my lips. "I need to ravish my woman."

"At least you get sex." Blaine says under his breath.

"Dude gross." I say putting my hands over my ears.

"Why won't these keys work?" Kurt says twisting the key in the door. Suddenly the door swings open and a small grey haired lady is standing there in her robe holding a flower vase.

"I'm not afraid to hit you." She yells.

"Why are you in my apartment?" I say confused.

"This is my apartment. You are the tall guy who lives downstairs. Now go away." She says slamming the door in our faces. We all look around.

"Where are we?" I ask.

"What floor do we live on?" Rachel says walking back to the stairwell.

We walk back down another flight and find our door. Kurt tries the keys again but they don't work.

"Kurt these keys say 'Chevy' are you sure these are the house keys." I say looking down at the key in my hand.

"No." He says bursting out into laughter.

"Crap." I say holding back my own laughter. This really isn't funny but I can't help but laugh right now. "Now what?"

"Maybe we dropped them when we got out of the cab?" Blaine offers.

We all go back down the stairs and look around outside. I look over and see the fire escape leading up to our window. "Well it's a good thing Rachel never locks our windows." I say pointing to the open window on the third floor.

"Finny you can't get up there. You aren't really superman." Rachel says with her hands on her hips.

"Baby I'll be whatever you want me to be." I smirk as I grab her around the waist and spin her around.

I jump up and grab the ladder and pull it toward me. "I'll be right back!" I say as I start to climb the ladder. "Go in and wait for me."

"No way am I letting you go up there alone." Rachel says following me over to the ladder.

"Baby you can't climb the ladder. You've been drinking."

"And you haven't? Nope, you aren't going up there without me."

I step back and let her start climbing ahead of me. As I start to climb I look up. "Wow your ass looks great in that skirt babe." As she continues climbing I can see she is wearing the purple lace thong I love so much.

She looks down and smiles at me. "Oh that kind of talk will get you very far Mr. Hudson." She hops off the top of the ladder and onto the fire escape and starts to climb the stairs to the third floor.

"Really so if I tell you that you look really sexy right now, what would that get me?"

She stops walking and turns to look at me. "What exactly do you want?"

"Baby you are the only thing I want." I walk over to her and quickly capture her lips on mine as I push her back toward the building.

I feel her hands tug at the hem of my shirt and then slip beneath the material and I moan when I feel her fingers make contact with my skin. "You are so hot." I whisper as I lift her up and push her back into the wall, sliding my hands under her skirt.

"You make me hot Finn. I want you right now." She breathes out huskily.

"We are outside babe." I pant.

"Now Finn." She says pulling on the button of my jeans. I know I'm standing on a fire escape in the middle of the alley of our loft, and I want to stop and get her into the building but the second I feel her small hands reach inside my jeans and grab hold of my dick, I wouldn't even care if we were in the middle of Time Square with all of New York watching. If Rachel wants me now, she's going to get me.

"You don't have to ask me twice." I say as I quickly slip my hand between her legs and grab her panties and pull them down to the ground. I lift her up and brace her against the building as I grab one of her hands and push it back against the wall. I don't even have time to think about what we are doing I just know that I need to be inside her so I take no time in plunging myself inside her and she moans loudly as I enter her.

"God yes!" Rachel yells and I bring my mouth to her lips to quiet her.

"Shh baby." I grunt as I slam back inside her.

I let go of her hand and bring mine between us as I push my finger hard against her clit and I feel her hand roughly tug on the back of my hair.

"Oh God Finn, harder." She moans and I shove her harder against the wall knowing that tomorrow she is going to feel the scratches from the stone wall against her back but I'm so close that I need release. She pulls the hair on the back of my head harder and I feel her lips against my neck and her teeth grazing my skin. The smell of alcohol mixed with sweat in my nostrils. I feel her legs gripping harder around me and I push down harder on her clit as I feel her start to tighten around my cock and I can't hold back any longer as I explode inside of her. We stand there panting, trying to catch our breath when we hear the banging from inside the apartment.

I slide out of her and set her back down on the ground and quickly lift the window and slip into the bedroom turning around to pull Rachel in behind me. I run down the hall and open the door to the loft.

"My God what took so long?" Kurt says falling into the room. "I thought I was going to have to sleep out there."

Blaine follows him in and laughs at me. "You uh might want to zip up before Kurt realizes why you took so long."

I look down and see that my jeans are still undone and I quickly zip them up and pull my shirt over them.

"This was the best New Year's EVER!" Rachel says as she comes tripping out of the bedroom.

I fall over onto the couch and sit there. Rachel sits on my lap and lays her head on my shoulder.

"Should the room be spinning?" She asks.

"I think you need to go to bed baby." I say closing my eyes.

I feel the couch dip and I open my eyes to see Kurt curling up on the other end of the couch. Blaine sits on the floor and lays his head on Kurt's lap.

"We are so going to feel this tomorrow." Blaine says.

"I'm going to get aspirin." Kurt says jumping up and running to the bathroom.

"Rachel!" He yells from the other room. He comes walking out with something in his hands. "Please explain why your underwear is in the middle of the hallway!" I look up to see Kurt holding Rachel's purple thong.

"Hey, whatever horny drunk Rachel wants, she gets." I say smugly causing Kurt to roll his eyes and toss her underwear on the ground.

"I thought she was a needy girl drunk?"

I lift my head and wink at Rachel. "Oh she has needs alright."

"Gross, make it stop before the sex starts." Kurt says making a face.

"I think we're too late for that." Blaine snorts as Rachel breaks out into giggles.

"You didn't! Well I guess we started the New Year's off with a Finchel bang."

We all laid there until we were all half asleep.

"Well I don't feel like sleeping with all of you tonight, so I'm going to bed." I announce.

I pick up Rachel and carry her to bed and slide in beside her pulling the covers over us as she snuggles into my side.

"I love you Finny." She whispers.

"I love you too Rach. Happy New Year's."


	22. Chapter 22

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 22**

**Kurt POV**

"So Max how was your holiday?"

"It was wonderful. Thank you for Thanksgiving again. I'll never get over your family though, Special K. Funny group. That mow-hawked dude was awesome though. I would have loved to get my hands on him."

"MAX! Chuck would not approve." I laugh as I watch my roommate is unpacking her suitcases.

"What Chuck doesn't know won't hurt him."

"Yeah well I think Chuck is the only guy who would probably scare the crap out of Puck though. You sure do like the bad boys."

"Mama likes her men to be two things. Hot and bad ass. That boy was definitely both."

"If you say so. Puck was never my type." I laugh as I think about my school boy crush on Finn.

"That's because you like straight and narrow men like Blaiiiiine. Boooring." She says tossing her socks at me.

"Gross! Keep your socks to yourself girl. Besides, you haven't seen Blaine when he's in his band. You should check him out this weekend. He's playing at the festival in the park. He's wearing leather." I wink and raise my eyebrows at her.

"Well, maybe Lil B has more to him than meets the eye." She laughs.

"You have no idea Max. Just come and watch. You might enjoy it."

The rest of my day is spent in classes as we settle back in for the new semester. I was hoping Rachel would have gotten in this semester but once again she was put on the waiting list. Today we are finding out who gets the solos for the spring recital. I've gone head to toe with Renee for every single solo this year so I'm hoping this is finally my chance.

"Good luck." I hear her snort as she pushes past me into the auditorium.

"Special K!" I hear someone yell from the other side of the room. I turn and see Max sitting down in front. I walk over toward her.

"Max what are you doing in here?" I ask as I sit down next to her.

"We're part of the spring recital. You sing, we play. It's really exciting don't you think?"

"Yeah, not like it's going to matter. I've lost every single solo to Renee this year."

"Well it's a new year K. Think positive." Everyone is watching us as they take their seats. People are still afraid of Max and I think she likes it that way.

"Ok everyone settle down. As you can see we have a full house today. We are announcing the soloists for voice and for musicians today. We are encouraging you to pair up with each other, though it is not required. However, it is nice to have the vocalists work together with the musicians during the spring recital." She walks over to the podium and grabs the list.

"Musicians with solos are as follows; Samantha Grey, Jillian Anderson, Mike Hampton, and Maxine Illiard."

I lean my fist toward Max and she bumps it. It's her first time getting a solo and I'm sure once we get back to the privacy of our own room she is going to freak out, but she never does anything but play it cool in front of people.

"Our vocal soloists for this year's spring recital are; John Kemp, Sonia Heller, Marcy Petunia, and Kurt Hummel."

I'm in shock. I feel Max bump my shoulder and I try and smile quickly but I can't believe it. I hear someone snicker from behind me. "Must have been a pity vote." And I turn quickly and smirk at Renee.

"Yeah it's a pity you aren't doing a solo." I shoot back.

Max leans over. "Stay cool K."

I nod at her and we finish out the rest of the class in silence.

When we finally get back to our rooms we immediately start jumping on our beds. "Oh my God can you believe it!" I yell.

"Totally. We are awesome. They had no other choice. You know that this means we have to do something together."

"Definitely." I say falling over onto the bed.

The rest of the week is a blur. Classes are really starting to get hard as we focus in on the fundamentals of singing. And Max and I spend every other moment we have trying to find the perfect song that can feature us both. I barely realize its Friday when Blaine knocks on the door.

"Kurt, are you ready? We've got to get a move on." He says as he enters the room.

"Yes, can you wait five minutes? Max is coming with us."

We all finally head down to the cab and he takes us to Central Park where the festival is going to be tonight.

"Lil B, I never knew you owned leather, but I definitely approve." Max says as we get out of the cab.

"Max, I think you are in for a surprise tonight." He says winking and taking off toward Finn.

"Kurt, Max! I'm so glad you guys are here. I've been wandering around by myself for hours." Rachel says running over to us.

"Hey there Rachel." Max says greeting her with a hug.

"I can't believe the boys are playing at this today. It's huge. Do you see all the people here?" She says excitedly.

"This is a bit bigger than I thought it was going to be." I say looking around at the crowds gathering around the stage and screaming at some small band performing. "Louder too." I shout as I put the ear plugs into my ears.

"YO YO YO lil bro. Where you been?" Finn says coming up behind me and slapping me on the back.

"Wow, you smell like a liquor cabinet." I say holding my nose.

"Sorry, just taking the edge off dude. Don't sound like Rachel already." He says making a face and I see Rachel frown.

"Touchy." I say as he walks over to Blaine and I see them both knock back a drink.

"How long have they been downing shots?" I ask Rachel.

"Since we got here at 3. Kyle keeps telling Finn it's the only way he's going to be relaxed enough to play in front of this crowd. I just wish he would stop." She complains.

"Well, it's their first festival. Let's cut them a break right now. It's not like a daily thing." I say wrapping my arm with hers and walking over to the side of the stage as the boys get settled in for their set.

"Fine." She says as she watches Finn take another shot and then head onto the stage.

"Hey there. We are One Night Stand. I'm Blaine and I say we start this fucking party now!" Blaine yells.

"Wow, your boy sure is out of the suit and tie tonight." Max says jabbing my side.

"Yeah. I told you he would surprise you." I frown a bit as I watch Finn trip over his drum set as he takes his place and Blaine seems a bit off on the countdown, but after that they get their act together and the place goes crazy screaming and dancing all in front of the stage. Rachel and I just stare at each other and smile at the amount of attention they are getting from the crowd.

"Wow, they really like them." She yells into my ear.

"It's crazy right?" I shout as I'm jumping up and down.

"You guys better watch your backs." Max shouts behind us. She points over to a group of girls screaming in front of the stage just as one of them pulls her bra off and throws it toward the stage and it lands on one of Finn's cymbals. Finn laughs and uses his drum stick to push it off to the ground.

"Groupies." Rachel and I say at the same time.

As the set comes to a close we make our way to the side of the stage and wait for them to finish the set and come down the stairs. We feel a push behind us and see the girls from the front of the stage behind us.

"I want the drummer." The blonde girl says to her red headed friend.

"Dibs on the hot singer guy." The other one says.

"Excuse me can you move to the side." The red head says. "We're trying to get them to sign our shirts."

Rachel and I look at each other and Max clears her throat. "Sorry, but this area is only for guests of the band." She stands in between Rachel and the girls.

"What are you their body guard?" The red head sneers.

Suddenly we hear Blaine thank the audience and I see him coming toward the stairs. The girls push forward and shove Rachel toward the back of the stage as they jump in front of her yelling toward the guys. I see Rachel grab ahold of the stage and then straighten up and roll her eyes. The girls jump at Blaine and ask him to sign their shirts. Blaine grabs the pen and signs it as one of the girls giggles. Finn comes down the stairs behind them and the blonde grabs him by the jacket and asks him the same request. Finn grabs the pen and signs her shirt and looks around. I point toward the back of the stage as his eyes meet mine and he looks toward Rachel. Suddenly the blonde jerks forward and grabs him around the neck and pulls him down and kisses him.

"Woah." He says falling backwards. "Sorry, I've got a girlfriend." He says.

"Yeah well she doesn't have to know." The blonde squeals.

"Yeah well I would know. Besides, she's standing right behind you." He says as he pushes past her and walks toward Rachel and grabs her by the hand and leads her off behind the stage to the tent set aside for the bands.

I shake my head as the girls roll their eyes and ask Blaine if he has a girlfriend too.

"Um, well I'm dating someone yes." He turns and walks towards the tent leaving me and Max behind. Max looks at me and frowns as we follow after him to the tent. When we get inside I see Rachel and Finn talking at one of the tables.

"Are you sure you should be drinking? You've had quite enough I think." Rachel says sounding pretty upset.

"Would you stop? Look I know you are just mad about the kiss. I pushed her away Rach. You saw it yourself."

"Yes I did. However, she might not have gotten a hold of you in the first place if you had been sober Finn." She sits back and crosses her arms.

"Babe, did you just see how much ass we kicked out there. They loved us. We had groupies Rach. This is huge for us. Can you just be happy?"

"I am happy Finn, I'm very happy. I'm just worried about you. You don't need to drink this much."

"Ok, ok, I won't drink anymore tonight. Just relax babe. This was awesome. Let's be happy about that."

Rachel looks up at him and smiles. "It was awesome. You looked amazing up there. And it is nice to know that all those girls wanted you and I get to take you home."

Finn leans down suddenly and kisses her and I turn away to find Blaine.

"So, you're dating someone?" I question.

"Kurt, I didn't want to just out myself right then and there." He says quietly.

"So you are just going back into the closet for this band?" I say angrily.

"No I didn't say that. I just, I don't know. I want this band to get a good start without me becoming some kind of controversy. Can't you understand I'm doing it for the guys? It's not fair to them."

I frown and sit down on one of the picnic tables in the tent. "It's not fair to you to try and be someone you aren't. It's going to come out eventually."

"You're right, and I'll make sure it does. Just…not tonight. Can we just let the band have its day?" He says leaning over and brushing his hand against mine.

"Fine. It was a good set. I was really proud of you." I brush my thumb up against his palm and smile at him.

"I love you." He says suddenly.

"I love you too. " I answer.

"Just don't forget that. I'm proud to be with you. I just don't want you to think otherwise." He smiles.

"Dude! DUDE!" I hear Kyle shouting behind me.

"Good lord Kyle, what are you yelling for?" Finn says standing up.

"That guy out there, you see him. In the red jacket?" He points outside the tent.

"Yeah." Blaine says.

"He wants us to join his management group. He wants to promote us."

"What?" Finn says shocked.

"Are you serious?" Blaine asks looking between Finn and Kyle.

"Yes! And since you are the guy training to be a lawyer I thought it was best you talk to him. You are kinda our leader right?" He says looking over at Finn.

Finn nods. "Yeah, you're our guy." He says patting Blaine on the shoulder.

Blaine walks out with Kyle and I see him introduced to the man.

"Can you believe it?" Rachel says smiling at me.

"It's amazing." I say not believing how fast this seems to be taking off.

Blaine comes in to the tent. "Well guys, he's going to send me a contract in the morning. But it looks like Brand New Start might actually have a manager and he's already ready to sign us to a few more festivals."

Everyone cheers and Finn jumps up on the table and grabs a glass of water.

"A toast! To the most awesome team and band I've ever had!"

We all look around at each other. "Finn we are your only band." Blaine laughs.

"Whatever, I couldn't do any of this without you guys." He says nodding to Kyle and Blaine. "And we'd be lost without our support team." He says pointing to Rachel and me. "And the way Max was working the crowd out there, we definitely found our body guard." Max high fives him and he lifts his glass into the air. "You are all One Night Stand and we wouldn't be here without you."

Rachel giggles and leans over. "He's really emotional when he drinks." She lifts her bottle of water in the air. "Here here! To One Night Stand."

Finn jumps off the table and lifts Rachel off the ground. "Now we need to get home to celebrate!" She giggles as he kisses her neck.

"As long as by celebrate you mean, quietly go home and get some sleep, I'm down with that." I laugh loudly.

"Yeah um…sure Kurt that's exactly what I meant." He winks at Rachel and smacks her on the butt and I shake my head at Blaine.

He leans over and whispers in my ear. "I hope you have more ear plugs babe. I think we are going to need them tonight."


	23. Chapter 23

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 23**

**Rachel POV**

"Are you not going to class today?" I push Finn through the blankets and he groans. It's been two weekends in a row now that he has spent completely trashed. And two Monday's in a row that he has stayed home from school.

"No mom, I don't want to take a bath." He groans.

"Finn Hudson, are you going to school or not?" He stirs and the blankets are knocked off his face as he sits up.

"Rach, please stop screaming." He says grabbing his head.

"I'm not screaming Finn. But I can if you would like." I say climbing out of bed annoyed.

"Just take the car, I'm staying home." He falls back into the bed and pulls the covers over his head.

"Finn, you can't miss every single Monday. You have got to calm down with this drinking stuff. It's not good for you." I quickly pull on my clothes and brush my hair as I watch him roll over in the mirror.

"Stop sounding like my mom Rachel. Everything is fine. Tiff's right, you are being a total stick in the mud." He props the pillow over his face and I quickly walk out of the room making sure that I slam the door as loudly as possible as I leave.

I bang a few pots together as I make my lunch and slam my books into my book bag as I get ready to leave.

"What the hell?" Blaine yells coming out of his room with his hands over his ears and looking like death warmed over.

"Oh if it isn't the other half of the walking dead duo." I grab the keys off the counter and turn toward him. "Maybe if you two spent more time rehearsing and less time throwing back a few you guys wouldn't have forgotten the name of YOUR OWN band last night. Oh how I loved listening to One More Stand last night! I think you guys had one MORE too many."

"Woah. It's way too early for this Rachel to come out." He says turning and walking back into his room. I turn and open the front door and slam it shut behind me.

I've never been angrier at two men in all my life. And I grew up with two dads so that is saying a lot. The way that Finn and Blaine have been partying and living it up is really starting to get to me. Sure the band is doing great. They got their own street team with their new management staff. They go to all the right parties, play at all the right outdoor festivals, and are getting quite the blonde big boobed fan base. Two nights ago Finn came home with a napkin sticking out of his pants with a phone number written in lipstick on the napkin. He had no idea where it came from and he got to sleep on the couch while he figured it out.

And to make things even more fun for me, I didn't get into Julliard. AGAIN! I don't know how it happened that I came to New York with the most promise to make it here and so far I'm the only one with nothing to show for it. Finn and Blaine are finding their groove and unexpected fame, Kurt is finally catching on at Julliard, and I got to be Wendy in a kids play about Peter Pan. I bang my head on the steering wheel and look up at the campus in front of me. Somehow this isn't what I expected out of New York.

I walk into class with my shoulders slumped and feeling like everything was crashing in on me. I want to care, I really do, but I'm just really tired from everything going on right now. I throw myself down into my chair and sling my bag on the ground just as class starts. I tried to focus during class but my heart wasn't in it. I got a few texts from Kurt.

'_Seriously they are missing class AGAIN! K'_

'_Were they even awake when you left? K'_

'_Are you still alive? K'_

'_HELLO? Rachel, what is going on? K'_

I toss my phone into my bag as class ends and head for the door.

"Rachel, can I talk to you?" My instructor calls from the front of class.

I turn back and walk toward him. "Yes sir?"

"Rachel, I'm concerned about you. When you first got here you were my most eager student. Lately you seem tired and distracted. Is everything ok?"

I sigh. "Yes, I'm sorry, I just have a lot going on right now."

He frowns. "Look I understand. I know you are disappointed about Julliard. I know we aren't your first choice."

"No it's not that. It's personal stuff. I'm sorry; I'll try and keep it out of class."

"You need to figure out a way to channel all that you are feeling into what you are doing here. We have a lot coming up and I would like to depend on you and your talent in the coming months. But I need to feel like you want to be here and that you are willing to do what it takes to get what you want."

"I am, I will. I promise, I will focus. I can do that." I smile as he pats me on the back and heads for the door.

"Never let anything get in your way Rachel. You are very talented and I would hate to see you waste that."

I frown as I head back out to the car and pull out my phone to call Kurt.

"Rachel, what took so long?" He answers on the first ring.

"Sorry, I had class."

"What is wrong with our boys? Are they insane? They both missed class AGAIN? Rachel this is a problem."

"I know Kurt, but what do you want me to do? I'm the only one at home dealing with them both every day and into the night. I'm tired because they are up for all hours of the night playing in the living room or partying with Kyle. I can't focus at school; I can't pull it together Kurt."

"We need to talk to them."

"Maybe this weekend." I say and we agree that we will talk to them on Saturday after their concert.

I hang up the phone and see I have a new text.

'_Central Park? F'_

I see that the text was sent thirty minutes ago so I start to drive toward the park.

'_Fine. R' _

I drive to Central Park and find my way to our usual spot. Finn is already there setting up the picnic blanket. He sees me and runs up and lifts me up and hugs me.

"Hey babe. I missed you." He says as he puts me down and kisses my cheek.

"Why? Were you missing a stick in the mud?" I say frowning as I sit down on the blanket.

"Sorry about that. I was just tired."

I grunt and pour myself some water and take a sip. "What time did you get in last night?"

"Quarter after daylight or something." He says sitting down. "Tiff dropped us off after last call."

"Well good for TIFF." I say annoyed.

"Rach. Relax. I told you to come with us."

"Yeah and I told you it was a school night."

"Babe, it was for the band. We were meeting with a guy who is looking for an opening act. Turns out we are exactly what he needed. Isn't that great news? We are going to play at an arena for this local band that has a pretty big following."

I lie down on the blanket and look up at the sky. "Yeah that's great news Finn. I'm happy for you, really I am. But what does this mean for school?"

"Rach, it doesn't change anything. I'm still going to school."

"Just not on Mondays?" I question.

"Ok you're right. I need to start getting up and going to class. And I will. Babe I promise, I'm not quitting school. I just really want this right now. Don't you understand? I mean if you were getting roles in those plays you would totally go for it right now."

I cringe as he brings up the plays knowing that I've been on a few auditions and nothing has come of them. Nothing is coming of anything I do right now. But he's right. If it was me, I would do anything to make sure I got to do what I wanted. I need to remember that as I support Finn through this. It's important to him and that means it's important to me.

"Just promise me that you will cut down on the partying. Finn I love you and I'm happy for you, but you can't skip all this school and be drunk half the days of the week and not expect it to affect you. I'm just worried about you."

He rolls over on his stomach and looks down at me.

"Promise." He smirks as his fingers lace themselves into my hair.

I look up at him and my anger starts to melt as he smiles at me. I never could resist his smile. "I love you." He grins.

"That's not fair. Don't go being all sweet." I complain.

"What? I do love you babe. You are the best girlfriend in the whole wide world." He leans down and kisses me and I realize how much I have missed his kisses. He's been so busy with the band and partying with the management group that I haven't had much time to just enjoy him.

"Well just don't forget it." I say softly.

"Never. You're my girl."

"Even though I'm a stick in the mud."

"Yeah, but you're my stick in the mud."

I slap his arm and he quickly kisses me again. When he pulls back he pushes my bangs out of my eyes and grins. "So how's school?"

I frown. "It's fine." I say shortly. Now doesn't feel like the time to talk about school and how I'm feeling. I don't want Finn to worry about me, not when he's finally getting a dream to follow. It's not his fault that mine aren't coming true.

"I made you your favorite." He says sitting up suddenly.

He reaches into the basket and pulls out a plate that is covered with napkins. "Look, I made them myself." He grins as he pulls out the pink frosted cookies with the words "I'm sorry" written across them. I can't help but smile as he pulls one out and hands it to me.

"I'm surprised you even remember these." I laugh as I take a bite of one.

"Of course I do. You were really adorable when you brought them in to class. But really all I could think about was how awesome you were and how much I wanted to kiss you again."

"Cuz it worked so well for you the first time?" I giggle.

"Hey we don't talk about that anymore! It's embarrassing." Finn doesn't have that problem anymore, and it took him a while to explain to me why he left me there in the auditorium humiliated years ago.

I lean over and run my hands up his thigh as I kiss his neck. "I'm just happy I had that effect on you." I whisper into his ear.

"Baby, you always have that effect on me." He brushes his fingertips against my cheek as he pulls back and looks into my eyes. "You are the sexiest woman I know."

"Yeah well I don't exactly carry around the boobage that your groupies do." I laugh loudly.

"Babe, boobage? Really?" He smirks. "Besides I've never noticed."

"Whatever Finn!" I say crossing my arms and grabbing a cookie from the plate.

"I'd much look at yours." He says as he kisses my neck. "Did you know I even prayed to touch your boobs once?"

I giggle wildly. "You did what?"

"I did. I prayed to that damn grilled cheese sandwich to let me touch your boobs."

"Finn that is ridiculous."

"Hey don't knock it, it worked." I look at him like he's insane. "You totally let me touch your boobs the day I prayed to that thing."

I remember that day. It was the first time Finn and I talked about our futures. I was so scared when he touched me that he would be disappointed afterwards, but instead he was very eager to touch them again and again after that day.

"Well I don't think the sandwich did that." I laugh.

"I'm not taking a chance." He says grabbing his sandwich from the basket and closing his eyes.

"What are you doing?"

"Shh Rachel. I'm praying to swiss cheesus on rye." I fall over on the blanket laughing and he leans into my side and I feel his hot breath against my neck. "I'm hoping he might grant me my wish."

"It's not a genie Finn. But what did you wish for?" I feel his tongue graze my ear and then his words vibrate against my skin.

"I wanted to make my girlfriend scream my name."

I feel the shivers run down my spine and suddenly I don't even care that we are in the middle of the park. "And just how did you figure you would get that to come true?" I feel his hands rest on my thigh and the wetness pool between my legs as his fingers brush lightly against the fabric of my jeans.

He winks at me as my heart starts racing. "Let me take you back to my place and I'll show you."


	24. Chapter 24

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 24**

**Blaine POV**

"Is Rachel coming?" I ask Finn as we climb into the taxi cab.

"I think so. She's driving over later though with Kurt." He throws the rest of his stuff into the trunk of the cab and climbs in the back seat.

"Kurt's mad at me." It's been two days and he still hasn't returned my last call. "He said that until I stopped drinking like a fish, he was too busy to talk to me."

"Yeah well Rach isn't too happy with me. I don't get it, what's the big deal? We're just having a good time. It's not like anyone is getting hurt."

"Exactly, I don't remember them complaining on New Year's Eve."

"Well, we only live once right?" He says as he climbs out of the cab at the venue.

Kyle meets us at the back door and we find ourselves standing in the green room with the house band. Everyone is really nice to us and we are excited to have our very our own dressing room with our names on the door. Sure it's written in pen, but it still says our names.

"Dude can you believe this?" Finn says looking around the small room. "We have beer!" He shouts heading to the corner and grabbing a few beers from the cooler.

We hear a knock at the door and Tiffany enters the room with Kyle and a few girls who are squealing. "Hey dudes, I have friends." Kyle says.

"This is Georgia and Macy." Tiffany says as she introduces the two blondes beside her. Both are staring over at Finn and giggling.

"Hey there." He says nodding and heading back over to grab more beer.

It takes about an hour for the main band to warm up, and by the time they are done we are feeling pretty good. The blondes are sitting on either side of Finn and he looks quite uncomfortable but just toasted enough not to be too worried about it.

"We need you guys on stage for warm up." We hear a man yell as he sticks his head in the room.

We leave the girls to the room and run through our sound check and are setting up the equipment on stage when I hear Kurt and Rachel yelling at the stage door.

"We are WITH the band dammit." I hear Rachel saying to the big man at the door.

"Dude, don't make me kick your ass." Max is shouting.

"I'm sorry I can't just let you in." The large man says looking at his clipboard.

"If you don't find Blaine Anderson this instant, I am going to file a complaint." I hear Kurt's voice. I grab Finn and he looks up and sees Rachel.

"Yo wait, that's my girlfriend. They're with us." He says talking to the big guy.

"You didn't put their names on this list. You have to do that before the show."

"Yeah sorry, we're new to this. Can you just add them now?" Finn asks.

"This time I will, but next time you have to follow process." He steps aside and lets the three in.

Finn pulls Rachel aside and she looks pretty unhappy.

"Well, that was fun." Kurt says pushing past the body guard.

"Sorry about that, we didn't know." I say to him.

"Well we wouldn't want anyone to know who I actually was now would we?" He says folding his arms in front of him.

"Kurt we talked about this. Be patient."

We finish setting up and we all head back to the green room. The blondes and Tiffany are still in there when we arrive and Kurt and Rachel do not seem happy with their presence.

"Finny." The tall blonde shouts as we enter the room. "Why did that take so long?" She pouts.

"And you would be?" Rachel says annoyed.

"I'm Georgia. Who the hell are you?" She replies.

Finn steps between them. "Rachel is my girlfriend."

Rachel nods and takes a seat on the couch as Finn opens another beer with a vodka chaser and hands me the same. Kurt rolls his eyes as we take our shot and prepare to start the show.

"I'll meet you in here after ok?" Finn says to Rachel as we leave the room.

Playing an arena is more amazing than you can even imagine. The screams are even louder when they are contained inside an auditorium than when you are playing outside. And the adrenaline really kicks in when you are on stage. Finn is set up on a raised stage and he has a stock of beer sitting next to him throughout the show. The crowd finds it pretty bad ass as they scream for him to chug after each song. By the time the show ends I'm feeling pretty buzzed myself and we are escorted off the stage and past the body guards. We are ushered into our dressing room where Tiffany and the blondes are waiting for us.

"You guys were so hot." The shorter blonde says as she throws herself into my arms as I enter the room.

"Especially you." The taller one says as she grabs Finn by the jacket and pulls him onto the couch beside her. Finn stumbles and lands on the couch as the blonde leans over him and kisses his neck.

"Woah." I hear him protest. "That's a bit too much partying." He laughs as he pushes the girl off of him. I quickly step to the side and brush Macy away as I reach for a glass of water. My head is killing me.

"Where are Rachel and Kurt?" I ask Tiffany. She shrugs.

"Don't know. We never saw them when we were out there. I don't think that chick likes me."

"I like you though." Georgia says leaning over and planting her lips on Finn's. This is getting out of hand. I see Finn put his hands on the girls shoulders and attempt to push her backwards but he's had so much to drink at this point, he can barely stand up much less shove an extremely aggressive chick off his lap. Just then the door flies open and I hear Rachel's voice.

"When I tell you I'm with the band that does NOT mean I'm a groupie." She is shouting to the security guard at the door. She turns quickly and sees Finn with Georgia on his lap and her eyes widen. "That would be a groupie!" she says pointing at the girl and turning around and walking back out the door.

Finn jumps up off the couch knocking the blonde to the floor. "Rach! Wait. It's not what it looks like."

Rachel turns around quickly and her hand connects with his face. "I don't care what it looks like. You promised me." Kurt looks over at me and frowns as Rachel turns and runs from the room with Finn chasing after her.

"I hope you two are happy." Kurt says to me as he storms out the door.

"Wow talk about a freaking buzzkill." Tiffany says. I sigh and follow the other three out the door. When I get to the end of the hallway Finn is leaning against the wall and Kurt and Rachel are nowhere to be seen.

"Where did they go?"

"Rach left. Kurt is trying to find her." He says standing back up. "Forget it." He turns and walks back toward the dressing room. I follow him in and see him in the corner grabbing another beer.

"Look, maybe we should go after them."

"Why? She's not going to talk to me. Besides we have to go out there at the end. Just let her stew. I'm not in the mood." He takes another swig of his beer and plops down on the couch. Georgia sits next to him and he immediately pushes her away. "Not now. Seriously." The rest of the evening Finn gets worse with every beer until he's practically screaming at everyone who walks by him.

After the show we take a cab back to the loft. When we enter I notice that all the lights are off. "Well I guess we might be shacking up together on the couch buddy." I say to Finn who grunts angrily at me.

He stumbles back toward the bedroom and throws the door open. I head to the kitchen to get another glass of water and some aspirin when Finn comes in to the kitchen.

"Where are they?" He asks.

"What do you mean?"

"Rachel isn't in the room. My clothes are still on the bed so she hasn't even been here."

"Did you check my room?" I ask concerned.

"Yeah, nothing."

I grab my phone and look down at the screen. Fifteen missed calls and ten text messages. I quickly lift the receiver to my ear. "Did you check your phone?" I ask feeling nervous.

He grabs his phone. "What the hell?" He says lifting the receiver to his ear.

"Babe, I'm at the hospital. I'm ok, but there was an accident. Can you just call me back?" The messages continue. "Blaine, please I need you to call me. Where is Finn? He's not picking up. He needs to get over here." I look over at Finn and his eyes are getting wider. "BLAINE ANDERSON IF YOU DON'T RETURN MY CALL I'M NEVER SPEAKING TO YOU AGAIN."

"Rachel." Finn yells as he takes off toward the front door. I chase after him and we head downstairs and grab the first cab.

When we get to the hospital, Finn is frantic and runs to the first nurse he sees. "My girlfriend, I need to find my girlfriend. Rachel Berry, really short, probably pretty pissed off. Where the hell is she?"

"Sir, please calm down."

"Don't tell me to calm down, where the hell is my girlfriend?" He yells.

"Finn, Blaine!" I hear Kurt yell.

We turn and I see Kurt coming down the hall with a coffee in his hand.

"Where the hell is she?" Finn yells grabbing Kurt by the shoulders.

"Relax. She's fine. I'll take you to her." He says walking over to the elevator.

"What the hell happened?" Finn asks as the doors close.

"She took off and I chased her down a couple of blocks. She was trying to get a cab but I don't think she was paying a lot of attention when some idiot who was leaving your show came out of nowhere and clipped her."

Finn's face falls and he runs both of his hands through his hair and exhales sharply.

"She's ok Finn. Just some scrapes and bruises. She got lucky because the idiot driving wasn't going very fast. The cops took the guy in cuz he was obviously intoxicated."

"This is my fault." Finn says quietly. "If I would have just listened to her. Kept my promise."

"Finn, you can't blame yourself." I say.

"Well I can." Kurt says sharply turning toward the door as it opens. "And I'm not so positive she's going to want to see you anyway." He walks toward the room and as we turn the corner we see Rachel sitting on the bed talking to the nurse.

"I'm quite alright; really I think this is all unnecessary. It's just a couple of scrapes."

"Yes but you needed a few stitches here and we want to make sure that we take care of it properly." The nurse argues.

Finn walks into the room and Rachel looks up. Finn walks straight over to her and pulls her into his arms.

"You scared the crap out of me."

"I'm fine." She says shortly.

"I'm so sorry Rachel. I'm really sorry." He repeats.

"Yes well I'm sure you are. But that really doesn't matter to me right now."

Finn pulls back and looks at her. "Rach, please."

"No Finn. I'm tired. And all I want to do right now is go home." She looks over at Kurt who grabs her coat and some papers from the nurse.

"Well let me take you home babe." He says reaching for her hand. She pulls it back immediately.

"NO! Just stay away from me Finn." She yells as she walks out of the room. Kurt turns and looks at us both.

"I hope you both realize what you are willing to give up for this band. We both love you very much and we are happy you two are bonding and having this wonderful experience together. But if you don't find a way to make this band a positive experience, we won't be around to watch you destroy your lives because of it." He turns on his heels and marches out of the room leaving Finn and I staring at each other.


	25. Chapter 25

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 25**

**Finn POV**

Waking up in a cold sweat on the floor with your face in your gay roommates arm pit is NEVER the most rewarding way to wake up in the morning.

"Dude, get off me." I yell as I grab Blaine's arm and push it away. He snorts as he rolls over and I try and untangle my legs from his. "What the fuck man!"

Blaine opens his eyes and looks over at me and then sits up quickly. "What the hell?" He says looking around.

"I think you fell of the damn couch dude. I told you I was sleeping on the floor. You were supposed to stay up there!" I say pointing to the couch.

"What time is it?" He asks me. I look down at my watch.

"Crap. I'm going to be late for school. I promised Rachel I would go today." I jump up and rush back to the bedroom. The door is open and I can see that Rachel has already left for the day. I frown as I see that she has folded all her clothes from the night before and put them on the bed. The jeans are torn and bloodstained. I get dressed quickly and run downstairs to catch a cab.

By the time I get to class I'm an hour late and I try and slip in the back of the room unnoticed. When class ends I quickly gather my stuff and head for the door.

"Finn, can you stay back please?"

I inhale and turn around to face my professor. "Yes sir? Sorry about being late."

"Oh I was just surprised to see you at all. It is Monday right?" I look down at the floor.

"Yeah sorry about that. I've been busy."

"Finn I have to ask. Are you sure that you are committed to this Major?"

"Yes sir. Of course."

"You've been missing classes, you aren't paying attention, and you look like you haven't slept in days. Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry; I guess the band is just taking up a lot more time than I thought it would."

He nods. "How's Rachel?" He asks and I flinch. "I haven't seen her in a few days. She is usually around after classes."

I frown because I realize I have no idea what Rachel has been up to lately. I really haven't been paying a lot of attention.

"She's alright. She got hit by a car last night." His mouth drops.

"My God is she ok?"

"Yeah yeah she's fine. Just some scrapes. She's at school today though. I think."

His eyebrow creases as he looks at me confused.

"Why don't you come with me?" He says walking out of the room. I quickly grab my stuff and follow him out. He walks a few doors down and heads into his office.

"Are you coming to the summer musical?" He turns and asks as he grabs some papers from behind his desk.

"Musical? Um no." I answer quickly.

"Oh I just assumed with Rachel taking the main solo over you would be coming."

"Um. Sorry, what?" I ask confused.

"Rachel, she has a big solo number in the musical. One of the other girls got laryngitis and it takes a lot of preparation so her professor asked her to step in. It's normally just for Juniors or Seniors but Rachel has an amazing voice."

I nod my head and wonder why Rachel hasn't told me anything. But then I realize I haven't exactly been spending any time with her. I've been at parties and rehearsals and promotional functions. When did I become that guy?

I look down and see that my professor is handing me a photo. "Here it is."

I take the photo and see a grainy picture of a band. They look to be about 17 and they are on the beach with their instruments. I look back up at him confused.

"That's me. Behind the drum set." He says. I look back and recognize him except that in the picture he has a lot more hair.

"Wow, didn't know you were in a band." I say surprised.

"Yeah we were pretty awesome back in our day. Beach band mostly. But it was a crazy time." He starts to walk out of the room and I follow him again with the picture still in my hand.

At the end of the hall I hear a lot of banging noises coming from the room. We walk in and I see about 15 kids sitting behind drums banging away with huge smiles on their faces.

"Now make sure you don't just bang. Remember the sound we are trying to make." A tall man says from the front of the room. All of the kids start talking at once making the sound with their mouth.

"Rat tat tat." They say in unison.

"Exactly." The man sees my instructor and walks over.

"How are they doing?" he asks the man.

"Excellent. Donny is making a lot of progress." He advises and I recognize the kid in the corner as my instructor's son. The boy sees me and holds up his sticks and points to them. I laugh as I recognize the red tape I added to the sticks when I first got them. I give him a thumbs up and he continues banging on the snare.

My professor smiles at his son and then nods at me to follow him out of the classroom.

"He hasn't stopped playing since you gave him those sticks." He says as we exit the room to the hall.

"That's great. He looks good."

"Finn, I'm sure New York is a pretty big place to you compared to where you were from right?" I nod. "And I'm sure you never had as much attention as you've been getting with this band of yours. From what Rachel tells me you guys are quite good." I smile and wonder how often Rachel has talks to my professor. I had no idea they had ever met.

"Being in a band is awesome. Some of my best friends were in that band." He says pointing to the photo in my hand. "Just don't lose sight of the real prize though. Fame and attention that stuff goes away. People get bored and move on. But teaching, making a difference in a kids life, that's a reward that stays with you forever."

For the next few days those words stay with me. I make sure to attend all my classes that week. Rachel still isn't speaking to me though even though I've tried talking to her many times. I decide to stay after school to make up the time I've missed for every Monday I skipped and as I finish up one night I pass the auditorium on my way out when I hear her voice.

I sneak in the back of the auditorium and take a seat by the door. Rachel is standing in the middle of the stage and every spotlight is on her.

'_Memories, light the corners of my mind__  
><em>_Misty watercolor memories of the way we were.__  
><em>_Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind__  
><em>_Smiles we give to one another__  
><em>_For the way we were.__'_

I can't stop staring at her as she sings. I'm mesmerized by every note she hits. She's perfect. And my heart breaks a little as I realize that I have forgotten all about Rachel and being there for her. I've been so caught up in what was going on with me that I completely forgot about her.

'_Can it be that it was all so simple then__  
><em>_Or has time rewritten every line?__  
><em>_If we had the chance to do it all again__  
><em>_Tell me would we? Could we?'_

A part of me wonders why she chose this song to sing. Secretly hoping it was chosen for her but knowing Rachel the way I do, I know it means something to her and it hurts my heart to think about her reasons for singing it.

'_Memories, may be beautiful and yet__  
><em>_What's too painful to remember__  
><em>_We simply choose to forget__  
><em>_So it's the laughter we will remember__  
><em>_Whenever we remember__  
><em>_The way we were.'_

If you didn't know her well you would think the song was flawless. But I know her better than that and I heard the soft wavering in her voice with the tears that were threatening to fall. And I have to get out of there. I head out of the auditorium and when my feet hit pavement, I run. I have no idea where I am running to I just know I need to get away. I need to figure out what the hell I'm doing.

She wouldn't leave me right? We've been through so much, she wouldn't leave me now. I run until my legs give out and I have to catch a cab to get back to the loft. But I don't even bother going up to the room, instead I head straight for the basement where I keep my drum set locked up. I close my eyes as the wood hits the pad. Pounding out all my frustration and anxiety as I feel the tears well up in my eyes. I don't know what I'm doing.

I'm losing her. Is that what I want? How did I lose touch with her life? Have I even asked her how she was for weeks? God I don't blame her for walking out. I'd walk out too. And suddenly I'm panicked. I can't lose her, not now. She's everything I've got. What if she actually leaves me? What if I had actually lost her that night when she got hit by that car? I would have never forgiven myself.

I feel the sweat pouring off of me as I pound the sticks into the metal cymbals and feel the vibration of the bass beneath me and I scream at the top of my lungs. When I find that I can't scream anymore, I feel the anger just pour out of me and the sticks go flying out of my hand. When I look up I see Rachel standing on the stair case looking over at me with tears in her eyes.

"Rach." I say standing up quickly. She starts to walk back up the stairs. "Please don't go." I whisper. She stops and turns around.

"I can't." She says staring at me and then looking down at the floor.

I fall back on the stool and lower my head into my hands. "Please don't leave me." I breathe out quietly.

"Finn." She says sucking in a breath.

I don't even look up. "Please Rach. I can't lose you. Just don't leave me." I feel the tears falling and I feel like such an idiot for crying like a baby, but I can't do this without her. I don't know what I have if I don't have her.

I feel her hand on my shoulder and I look up quickly. The tears are in her eyes and I take her hand in mine and pull her on to my lap. "Finn." She whispers as she tries to pull back.

"Rach, I'm so sorry. I know I've said it before, but I'm really sorry. You were right. I don't know what I'm doing anymore. But I can't do this without you. Baby don't leave me. I'll make this right. I swear I can make it right." I look into her eyes, pleading with her. Begging.

My hands find their way into her hair and I'm pulling her towards me like I need her mouth to breathe. Her lips crash onto mine and my heart feels like it's going to explode. She moans against my lips and my tongue pushes up against her bottom lip waiting for her to let me in, pleading with her to let me taste her. She sighs and her lips part as our tongues mingle together and her hands pull at my hair.

"I love you Rachel. I need you so much. I'm so sorry." I say between kisses. Her mouth is sliding down my neck and I feel her breath against my ear as I pull her against my lap, my pants getting tighter as her legs wrap around me. My hand grips her thigh and she moans into my ear causing my erection to grow even harder as she grinds her hips against me.

"I missed you." She whispers into my ear. "I've needed you so much Finn."

I slide my fingers under the hem of her skirt and when I reach her center her panties are soaked. I rub her through the cotton and she softly moans my name against my neck as her body pushes against me. I feel her hands move between us as she reaches into my sweats and tugs them downwards slipping her hands into my boxers and freeing my erection. She slides her hand slowly against the tip as she pulls my head backwards with the other hand gripping my hair and her mouth makes contact with the underside of my chin and I feel her teeth graze my skin. I groan at the forcefulness of the contact.

I quickly push her panties to the slide and feel the wetness of her folds around my finger as I push one inside of her as she pants softly. I slide another one in as her hand begins to pump up and down my shaft with her mouth roughly moving down my neck. I remove my fingers and quickly push her hand off of me as I lift her with both hands and move her over my dick. Pushing her panties to the side I quickly slam myself into her with one thrust as she throws her arms around my neck and yells my name. I keep my hands on her ass as I left her off my cock and thrust back inside of her.

She throws her arms back and they make contact with the cymbal and she arches backwards against the kit and I continue to thrust inside of her. With one of her hands on the snare drum she moves the other down between us and throws her head back as her hand makes contact with her body. After a few more thrusts she's moaning loudly and the sensation of her hand between us and being buried so far inside of her is enough to cause me to explode with a load groan as I feel her walls tighten around me and she screams my name one more time.

Her head comes forward and rests on my shoulder as I put both my arms around her back pulling her to me.

"Rach." I whisper.

"Shh." She says quietly.

"Baby I'm going to make this right. I promise."

She lifts her head and looks at me, the tears now streaming down her face. "I thought I had lost you." She sobs.

"I thought I lost you too. I'm so sorry baby. I promise. It's not going to ever be like that again. I swear to you Rachel."

Her head rests on my shoulder and I hold her as she cries. And I know that no matter what I do, I have to fix this. I have to fix us. All the fame, all the attention, none of it is worth it if I don't have Rachel.

She pulls back and I wipe the tears from her cheeks. "No more drinking during our sets ok?" I say seriously. "And you have to know that nothing happened with that girl." She nods.

"I know. Tiffany came over and told me." She says quietly.

"What?"

"She came to apologize. She's not so bad when she isn't being a complete bitch." She laughs.

"I heard you sing." I say suddenly.

"What?" She says surprised.

"The way we were. I heard you the other day. I'm sorry I've been so wrapped up in this that I forgot about you."

She looks away. "It's not a big deal."

"Yes it is. You're a freshman and you already have a solo. You're amazing Rach. And you sounded amazing. Like always. It's just…." She climbs up off my lap. "You'd do this all again right? You don't regret this?" I ask, afraid of what the answer may be.

She turns and looks at me. "I would never regret you."

I stand up and take her in my arms. "I never want to lose you Rach. When I heard that message that night. When I heard Kurt saying you were in an accident. I didn't know what to think. I thought my life was over. I didn't care about that damn band. I just wanted you. You can't leave me ever."

She looks at me and smiles. "You can't get rid of me that easily. I'm Rachel Berry remember." She giggles.

"How could I ever forget?" And once again I kiss her and I know that no matter what comes our way, together we'll figure it out. Together, we can fix anything.


	26. Chapter 26

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 26**

**Kurt POV**

"Well at least he apologized."

"Yeah. I think he finally understands why I was so upset."

"Well you need to make him suffer still. Just hold out for a few more days and you will have him eating out of your hand."

"Um…well…I guess…"

"YOU ALREADY GAVE IN! Girl, you've got to play harder to get." I hear Rachel laugh into the receiver and I'm glad to hear her happy again.

"I was never good at hard to get with Finn, Kurt."

"Oh girl you do NOT have to tell me that!" I laugh as Max enters the room and throws her bag on the ground by the desk.

"So…speaking of hard to get. Have you spoken to Blaine or are you just going to let him pout around the house for another week?"

"Oh is he pouting? That's sad." I say sarcastically.

"Kurt, you are going to have to talk to him. He's been quiet all week." Rachel pleads.

"Rachel, how would you feel if Finn went up there on that stage and pretended to be gay? And just let you be the "friend" who stood on the sidelines?"

"Probably a lot happier than him being attacked by busty blondes."

"Very funny. I'm serious though."

"I get it Kurt, I do. Just talk to him ok."

"I'll think about it. Are you coming to get me after class today?"

"Yeah, I'll see you then. I have to go; Finn is meeting me for lunch. Love you Kurt."

"Love you too Rachel, see you tonight."

I hang up the phone and toss it back on my pillow as I reach under the bed for my shoes.

"Lil B still pretending he likes the lady folk?"

"I guess. I just don't get the point. New York just started accepting us for who we are and he's hiding from it. It makes me angry."

"Don't take it personal K. He isn't trying to hide you."

"No, he's just hiding from himself so that people will like the fake him. That sounds awesome." I grab my bag and head for the door.

"Don't self destruct K. You've got your recital Sunday. You need to keep a positive energy."

"Who are you and what have you done with my roommate?" I say staring at her.

"Hey I didn't say I had to have a positive energy. I just said you did." She laughs.

I swear that I tried to stay positive throughout the rest of the day but with Renee rolling her eyes and clearing her throat every time I opened my mouth to sing and Finn texting me to find out if I am going to talk to Blaine tonight, I'm in a really bad mood by the time I get back to my room.

"You going home today?" Max asks as I walk through the door.

"Yeah, Rachel is coming to get me soon."

"Try and be nice to B." She says raising her fist at me.

I hear the knock at the door and yell, "Come in Rachel."

But as the person walks through the door I realize that Blaine has come to pick me up not Rachel. He looks tired, his clothes aren't even pressed. "Hey Max. Long time." He says.

I look up and he avoids my eyes but looks my way. "You ready?"

"Sure." I reply shortly as I gather my stuff and wave to Max. "See you Sunday night." I turn without looking at Blaine and walk out the door toward the exit.

He follows behind me in silence only speaking to hail the cab. I climb in the back seat and stare out the window. "So, still not talking to me?" Blaine says quietly beside me.

"I'm not NOT talking to you." I turn and look at him for the first time and his eyes look swollen, red, and sad. A part of me wants to reach out and hold him but the other part of me is so angry with him still that I can't.

"Oh." He says turning toward the window. We ride the rest of the way in silence and when we reach the loft, we climb the stairs until he turns and looks at me stopping me from getting to the door.

"Kurt, I get it. But don't you understand why I'm doing this?"

"No. I don't." I say sharply.

"This isn't just about me. It's about Finn too."

"Don't use that excuse. Finn's a big boy. He adjusted just fine to having a gay brother. He stood up for me every chance he got. I think he's perfectly proud of me. And you! So don't hide behind Finn."

I push past him and enter the loft and slam the door behind me. Rachel and Finn are sitting on the couch laughing and look up quickly when they see me.

"You are on my bad list!" I say pointing to Rachel as I storm off to my room.

"Kurt. He asked if he could come get you." I hear Rachel as she follows behind me.

"I told you I didn't want to see him right then, but you sent him anyway without even warning me." I throw myself down on the bed pouting.

"Kurt, he's really upset. You haven't spoken to him properly in weeks."

"Well considering I don't exist anyway, it should be perfectly normal to him."

"You are being a diva Kurt!"

"That came from the right mouth." I shout.

"STOP IT!" I hear someone yell from the doorway.

I look up and see Blaine standing behind Rachel. "Don't take this out on her. You're mad at me. Yell at me."

Rachel turns and quietly walks out of the room.

"FINE! You want me to yell, I'm going to yell. I hate that you feel like you have to HIDE me. Like I'm not important to you." I scream.

"That's not what I'm doing. I'll come out eventually Kurt. Just give this band a chance first." He pleads.

I stand up and walk over to the window looking down on the street below us. "I miss when things were easy. When you and I could just walk around holding hands in the park."

I feel him put his hand on my shoulder and I lean back enjoying the feel of the contact again. "Kurt, I love you. Nothing changes that. Just please, give me a little bit more time. That's all I'm asking."

I turn and look over at him and he pulls me in for a hug. Feeling safe in his arms again is almost too much and I hear a sigh escape my lips. I hate being such a diva. "How much time?" I whisper.

"Two weeks. We are playing a few large venues and should have gotten our foot in the door by then. Just two weeks. I promise."

I pull back and smile at him as he leans forward and I feel his lips brush mine. "Two weeks." I whisper against his lips. "But if you don't do it, I'm going to charge the stage and kiss you in front of everyone." I laugh.

"Ok ok, two weeks. I promise." He takes my hand and turns to the door.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"We made dinner. It's your favorite pasta." He grins.

"You just know the way to my heart is through my stomach." I giggle as I follow him out the door.

"Well I think it got worse when Finn became your brother." He laughs loudly.

"Hey, I had to steal food to survive when that happened. It was eat or be eaten!" We are both laughing when we enter the kitchen and I can't help but wink at Blaine as I see Rachel slap Finn's hand because he is pulling the pasta out of the pan with his fingers and eating it quickly.

"Finn, would you stop, there isn't going to be anything left if you keep eating it before it gets to the table!"

"But I'm hungry Rach! A man needs to replenish his energy if he's to keep up with you! You had me up all night last night." He leans over her and kisses her neck. "You can't just expect me to keep that up if I don't eat." She giggles and leans back to kiss him.

"Are you complaining mister?" She says laughing.

"Absolutely not. You can keep me up any time you want if you do what you did last night." He raises his eyebrows and she smacks his arm as she turns and leans up to kiss him again.

"No sex in the kitchen. Please remember our rule." I say as Blaine and I walk over to the table and Finn and Rachel quickly step away from each other.

"No one is having sex Kurt. Do I need to explain the birds and the bees to you? I know Burt talked to you about this in high school."

"NO! I've got enough pamphlets thank you very much!"

Finn tosses his dish towel at me and I quickly throw it back as I sit down at the table.

"Children behave!" Rachel says putting the plate down at the table.

"He started it!" Finn pouts.

"So Kurt, what time is your recital Sunday?" Rachel asks ignoring Finn.

"7pm. Max and I need to be there at 6."

"I can't wait to hear you." Blaine smiles over.

"I'm nervous. It's just going to be me and Max. What if we screw up? I have enough issues with some of my class thinking I don't belong there."

"Well your class sounds like a bunch of idiots then." Finn says shoving food into his mouth.

"Thank you Finn. I'm sure I have to agree there."

"Well I for one can't wait to hear you sing. It's been too long Kurt." Rachel says reaching across the table and taking my hand.

"Well Max picked the song. She says I can do it, but it's not something I'm used to singing. It's going to be acoustic so I'm nervous. Max is killing it though."

"Well Max is amazing just like you." Blaine says grinning.

The rest of the weekend is spent relaxing. Rachel got a call from Sam saying that Puck and him were going to be coming to visit for a couple of weeks and wanted to know if they could stay at the loft. These are the times that I'm glad I have to stay at the dorms during the week. I'm pretty sure the weekends will be enough Puck for me to handle. But Rachel seems excited and the boys are happy that they get to come see One Night Stand perform some "Kick ass" concerts as Puck puts it.

By the time Sunday comes along I'm feeling nervous and sick to my stomach. Waiting in the back of the concert hall for our turn feels like the first time Blaine and I sang together at Regionals. My palms are sweaty and my knees feel like they could collapse at any second.

"You ready Special K?" Max says standing at the side of the stage with her guitar in hand.

"No." I say softly.

"Yes you are. Just find Blaine and sing."

"You make it sound so simple." I chuckle nervously.

"It is. Just make it you and him and ignore everyone else."

We hear our names announced and start to make our way to the stage.

"Don't screw up out there. I wouldn't want your crappy solo to put a bad name on the school." I hear Renee spit at me as I turn toward the stage.

"Well the fact that you're a mega bitch hasn't ruined the school's reputation yet, so I think I'm going to be just fine." I remark as I turn quickly and walk out to the center of the stage and take my seat on the stool next to Max.

I feel the spotlight hot against my face as I bring the microphone to my mouth. I search the audience until I find him. He's sitting in the second row next to Finn and he's smiling up at me as I start to sing and everything else around me goes dark.

'_Come up to meet ya, tell you I'm sorry__  
><em>_You don't know how lovely you are__  
><em>_I had to find you, tell you I need ya__  
><em>_And tell you I set you apart__  
><em>_Tell me your secrets, and nurse me your questions__  
><em>_Oh lets go back to the start'_

The last few weeks have been hard. This band has stood in the way of so many things that Rachel and I expected when we got to New York. But I realize that New York wasn't just about Rachel and me. Blaine and Finn came here too, seeking something, anything to set them apart. Rachel and I spent so much time dreaming and asking them to come along with us that we forgot that they have their own dreams too.

I smile down at Blaine and I realize that he's just muddling through like I am. None of us have a clear path, and we do whatever we need to do to get through the dark to the other side of the light. But as long as we have each other, as long as the four of us stick together, we're going to get there.

'_Nobody said it was easy__  
><em>_Oh it's such a shame for us to part__  
><em>_Nobody said it was easy__  
><em>_No one ever said it would be so hard__  
><em>_I'm going back to the start__'_

As I finish the song I see Finn, Rachel, and Blaine all jump to their feet clapping wildly and Max and I stand and take our bow. Nothing is ever going to be easy, but the four of us are stronger than we think and learning as we go. Each mistake and lesson learned brings us closer to our goal. But as long as we have each other, nothing can stop us.


	27. Chapter 27

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 27**

**Rachel POV**

"The posters are awesome! This is really big compared to the last one right?" I ask Finn who is hanging a poster in a shop window.

"This is big Rach. I mean we are headlining the Central Park Music Fest. It's freaking huge for us." He says as he waves to the shop owner and we exit the building.

"What time is it?"

"4pm, what time do we need to be at the airport?" He asks.

"The flight comes in at 6 so we need to get there soon." I'm very excited to be seeing Sam and Noah again. I feel like it's been ages even though it was really just Christmas that we last saw each other.

"Ok, we can head over there now. Blaine and Kyle are headed back to the loft. I told Kyle he could eat dinner with us. He and Tiffany broke up and he's been eating Ramon noodles and ketchup and no one should have to do that Rach."

We head to the car and Finn tosses the rest of the festival posters into the back seat and we start our drive to the airport.

"So what are your plans while they are in?" I ask Finn.

"Well we have a few shows lined up; I thought they could come along. Help the band set up, that kind of thing. You know boys night out. I know you are getting ready for your show too so you don't have to worry about me and helping get my stuff together."

"Thank you, I think that would be nice for you. I'm sure they will really enjoy your groupies." I laugh as I think about the girls that hang around backstage just waiting for the boys to come off stage. At first it was really difficult to get used to but now I know I feel more comfortable. Finn and Blaine make sure that Kurt and I are on every backstage list and we have our own band identification so there is no question as to who we are. Girls give me the evil eye but I actually enjoy knowing that I'm the envy of them all when Finn comes off stage looking sweaty and hot and the first thing he does is kiss me before he heads over to meet the fans.

"Yeah well I'm sure they will too. They can have em'. I already got all I want right here beside me." He reaches over and takes my hand and brings it to his lips.

We get out at the airport and head in to the terminal hand in hand. We check the board and see that the plane from L.A. has just landed and we rush to the security checkpoint to meet them. It doesn't take long before I see the blonde hair and the freshly cut Mohawk coming toward us. I rush forward and Sam sees me coming and drops his bag and lifts me up into a hug as my feet leave the ground.

"Missed you piglet." He says into my ear.

"You too." I reply as he puts me down and Noah grabs me and hugs me.

"So how bout you guys show us what New York has to offer!" Noah says fist bumping Finn.

"Not tonight boys!" I say. "We are going back to the loft and eating a normal dinner. You have all week for your boy's night out stuff!"

"Wow she's letting you off the leash?" Noah smirks.

"I'll have you know that Finn is never on a leash!" I frown.

"Yeah, don't go giving away our bedroom secrets, Rach." Finn says winking at both boys.

"FINN HUDSON!" I shout. Noah gives Finn a high five and I quickly turn and start walking toward the baggage claim as Sam speeds up to catch me.

"Don't mind them. Boys will be boys." He laughs. "I really did miss you."

"I missed you too." I say as I wrap my arm through his.

"So when is school out?"

"Now. We are on break. Well Finn is, I still have rehearsals for the recital."

"I can't wait to hear you sing. It's been ages Rachel." He smiles down at me.

"Aww, I'm really glad you are going to be there for it. You guys are going to love New York."

We collect our bags and head to the car.

"Dude, what are these?" Noah asks from the back seat after we get on the road. He is holding up the posters for the festival.

"What do they look like jackass?" Finn laughs.

"They look like a freaking rock band. Seriously! This is awesome. You guys are actually the main band for this?"

"Yeah crazy right?" Finn says looking back at them.

"It's insane. I didn't realize you guys were really serious about this." Noah says passing one of the posters to Sam.

"This is great. I'm really excited to see you guys jam." Sam says.

"Well you get to meet Kyle tonight. He's over at the loft for dinner."

"He looks bad ass! I bet he really brings in the chicks." Noah remarks.

"Yeah well he's a jerk sometimes." I say rolling my eyes.

"Hey give him a break. He's harmless. He just gets a bit excited about everything." Finn says seriously.

"Well, at least we don't have to have Tiffany around anymore." I say flatly.

"Tiffany?" Sam asks.

"Dumb blonde. You would probably like her Noah." I roll my eyes.

"Yeah! When do I get to meet her? You know I have a thing for blondes. Better yet the dumb ones."

"That's because the smart ones won't go near you." Sam laughs loudly.

Noah punches Sam in the shoulder just as we pull up and park at the loft. When we get in the door the music is playing loudly and Kyle and Blaine are playing a game on the Xbox and Kurt comes out of the kitchen with a bowl in his hands.

"YO BITCHES! I'M HOME!" Noah yells as he enters the room.

"Really?" I say giving Noah a dirty look. "Anyway, you guys are staying in there." I point to the family room where Kyle and Blaine are playing. "There are two couches so you both have one."

"Yeah we were gonna make you share one, but Rach said no." Finn laughs as Noah puts his bags down in the corner.

"Oh look, the gangs all here." Kurt says putting the last plate at the table.

"I'll be right back." I say and I lean over to Finn. "I need to shower ok?"

"Sure babe. See you in a bit." He leans over and kisses my cheek as I walk back toward the bedroom.

The warm water feels good against my skin as I turn on the shower radio and sing to the tunes playing. It's been such a long couple of months. The band has been thriving, which means more shows, and since we still don't have a crew, we are doing a lot of set up and tear down at different shows. Plus I have been rehearsing during the week for my solo at the recital coming up. So I'm constantly worn out.

The band has been doing really good since becoming alcohol free at their shows. They still drink now and then, but never on show night. The crowds are growing and people seem to be embracing them. They didn't make a big deal about the alcohol, but the promoters weren't happy about it at first. Apparently their management group is sponsored by Coors which makes the sponsor unhappy when the band doesn't promote their product. But the boys stood their ground and won as long as they don't tell others not to drink during their shows.

I step out of the shower and reach for my towel but it's not there. Crap. I could have sworn I brought one in. I quickly step out on the rug and look around for a robe. But then I remember that Finn was washing laundry in the basement before we left to hang signs. I yell out the door for Finn but I'm pretty sure he can't hear me with the music blaring in the other room. I yell one more time before deciding to just pull out some clothes from the dresser and hope to air dry.

I step out of the bathroom and walk naked to the dresser when the door opens.

"Finn, can you grab me a towel….ple….." I stand frozen as I look up and see Kyle standing in the door.

"Oh my God Rachel, I'm so sorry…I heard yelling in here and I came to see if you needed anything…I'm so sorry." He puts his hands into his hair and gulps. "God you're really naked…" He sighs.

I quickly grab for one of Finn's shirts on the bed and hold it in front of me. "Yes I am, now if you don't mind…please." I point to the door.

I can see him getting red in the face as he quickly turns and grabs for the door knob and pulls. But he doesn't calculate how quickly he pulls as he slams his head into the door frame and doubles over in pain.

"OUCH!" He yells as he fumbles again for the door and I rush over to grab the door and open it.

"Are you ok?" I say concerned.

He reaches up for the door with his hands over his eyes, but instead grabs on to my thigh. I jump back and he falls forward onto the floor.

"Oh my God, I'm sorry. Are you ok?" I say looking down at him. He opens his eyes and looks up at me.

"Yeah I'm ok. That's gonna hurt like a bitch tomorrow..but I uh, oh shit."

I follow his eyes and realize that he is looking straight up at me and with the angle he is lying at he has a clear shot of my naked lower half. "KYLE!" I shout.

He quickly rolls over and crawls out of the room.

I dress quickly, not even looking at the clothes I am putting on and look into the mirror to brush my hair. My cheeks are red and I'm shaking with embarrassment. I have no idea how I'm going to go out there and face him.

I check myself in the mirror one more time and open the door. Kyle is standing against the wall opposite the door.

"Hey." I say quietly.

"Hey, uh, can we pretend that didn't happen?" He says running his hand along the back of his neck.

"That would be awesome." I laugh uncomfortably.

"I don't want Finn to kick my ass for staring at his girlfriend. I mean…not that I was staring or anything."

"Of course not." I say quickly.

"Right cuz I wasn't. I mean not that I wouldn't cuz you are beautiful and your body is….err. Wait, I mean, shit. Look let's just forget it happened and never talk of it again ok?"

"Agreed." I whisper. He turns and walks back down the hallway toward the table. I follow him out and take my seat next to Finn.

"Feel better?" He whispers in my ear as I sit down.

"Much." I lie.

"Ok bring on the chow." Noah announces.

"I want rolls." Sam shouts and reaches across the table for the rolls.

"Manners." I shout at Sam.

"Yes mom!" He smirks.

"When you are done, can you pass the nipples?"

Everyone stops talking and looks up at Kyle. My face warms and I try not to stare at him or notice the fact that he was looking at my chest.

"Wow dude! Someone misses Tiffany." Finn chuckles beside me.

"Uh yeah, sorry." He says turning red.

The rest of dinner is quiet and no more body parts are mentioned. But Kyle seems truly embarrassed and once or twice I hear him swear under his breath as he accidentally touches me in passing.

"Ok you know what we need now?" Sam announces. "Karaoke."

"What?" I laugh.

"I haven't heard you sing in months Rach. Come on, please?" he begs.

"Wait, you sing?" Kyle asks surprised from his spot in the chair.

"Dude, do you not listen to me?" Finn chuckles.

I try and ignore the stare from Kyle as I stand up. "Well I don't want to sing alone."

Finn stands up and walks over to me. "Baby, I haven't sung with you in forever." He runs his hands down my back and kisses my neck. I feel his breath in my ear. "You know what singing with you does to me." I feel the hair on my neck stand up.

I smile up at him and giggle. "Well, you know I can't resist what our singing does to you."

He walks over to the machine and puts in a cd. He picks up the microphone and puts his finger up motioning for me to come near. The music starts and I smile wildly as he starts singing.

'_Hey little girl is your daddy home__  
><em>_Did he go away and leave you all alone__  
><em>_I got a bad desire__  
><em>_I'm on fire'_

He grabs my arm as I sing the word fire with him and he pulls me up against him and sings the next line.

'_Tell me now baby is he good to you__  
><em>_Can he do to you the things that I do__  
><em>_I can take you higher__  
><em>_I'm on fire'_

I wink at him as I walk to the other side of the room and start singing.

'_Sometimes it's like someone took a knife baby__  
><em>_edgy and dull and cut a six-inch valley__  
><em>_through the middle of my soul'_

I see Kyle watching me and he smiles sweetly as I sing my lines. I smile back and I feel Finn standing behind me so I turn to face him as we sing together.

'_At night I wake up with the sheets soaking wet__  
><em>_and a freight train running through the__  
><em>_middle of my head__  
><em>_Only you can cool my desire__  
><em>_I'm on fire__'_

We end the song inches from each other's lips and I almost forget that we have a room full of company until Kurt starts clapping.

"Ok now it's time for bed." Finn says staring down at me with his trademark grin that drives me wild and I shiver as his hand slides down my arm and he takes my hand in his.

"Dude! Keep it in your pants long enough for us to get to sleep." Noah yells.

"Well, that's my queue to go home." Kyle says quickly standing up and walking toward the door. He turns back. "You sing really nice Rachel."

"Oh um, than..thank you." I grin. He smiles again and heads out the door.

"What's up with him?" Finn questions.

I shrug my shoulders and focus on getting the boys blankets so that they can settle in for the night.

"You're quiet!" Finn says as he climbs into bed.

"I am?" I say confused as I roll over onto my side.

"Yeah, you've been acting weird since dinner."

"Oh, it must be just having the boys around."

"Rach, I think I know you well enough to know when you are hiding something." He sits up on his elbow and looks at me.

"I just don't want you to freak out."

He raises his eyebrow. "Well now I'm freaking out."

"It's just…something happened today. And it's not a big deal, well you might think it is, but it's not."

"Rach, seriously just tell me."

"Kyle kinda, might have, I mean not might have, because he did, well sort of…"

"Rach, what the hell did Kyle kinda maybe sort of might have done? I'm freaking out and I don't know if I need to go kill him or not right now and I kind of need to know because it's going to take me a while to find my pants and…"

"He saw me naked." I blurt out.

His eyes grow big and he yanks the covers off of us and stands up. "He what? How does he just see you naked Rach?"

"Calm down. I was in the shower…"

"He walked into our shower. I'm going to fucking kill him!"

"FINN! I was calling for you because there were no towels. I came out of the shower; he heard me and came in the room."

"He just walked into our room?" He's searching the floor in the dark and I can see him on his hands and knees on the floor.

"Would you get up? He didn't do it on purpose."

"Kyle saw you naked Rach. NAKED! Only I get to see you naked!"

"Finn, I pulled your shirt over me. It wasn't like he saw me very long the first time."

"THE FIRST TIME! How many times did he accidentally see you naked?" He says angrily as he begins pacing the room.

"Would you sit down before you hurt yourself in the dark Finn?"

"How do you see someone naked more than once and it still be an accident?"

"Ok so if you would let me explain!"

He sits on the bed and gets quiet so I continue. "When he tried to leave the room, he was covering his eyes and hit his head and I tried to help him but he missed the door and grabbed onto me instead and I freaked out and pulled away causing him to fall on the floor."

"HE TOUCHED YOUR NAKED BODY! I'm going to murder him!" He says standing up from the bed and feeling his way toward the dresser.

"It wasn't his fault. And I didn't realize I was standing over him with your shirt and he was looking up and…well…THAT was the last time he saw me naked."

Suddenly the lights turn on and I see Finn found his way to the switch. "So let me get this straight. Kyle walks in on you naked, grabs you while you are naked, and then gets yet another shot of you completely naked standing over him! And you don't want me to kill him because?"

"None of it was his fault. He was really embarrassed and asked if we could just forget this ever happened."

"Of course he did."

"Finn, honestly I think he's a little afraid of what you are going to do to him."

"He should be!" He shouts.

"Finn. It was an accident. Let's not make this more embarrassing than it already is."

"Oh my God, that's what his comment at the table was about. He was thinking about YOUR nipples!" He says grabbing his hair in his hand.

"You don't know that."

"Yeah I do, cuz as soon as he said nipples I thought of yours too!"

"That's stupid. I'm sure he's not even concerned about seeing me naked anymore. He doesn't even like me Finn."

"Yeah well liking you and wanting you are two different things Rachel. Kyle would sleep with anything he saw naked."

I cross my arms. "Oh so now I'm just ANYTHING!"

"That's not what I meant. I'm just saying of course he would want to sleep with you now."

"Just because I was naked?" I shout.

"Look Rachel, you are beautiful with your clothes on! A guy can't handle himself when the clothes come off and even when you DON'T want to think about it, you are going to imagine that person naked! He's going to be imagining you naked now! And I'm going to have to kill him to make it stop!"

"That's so ridiculous." I start to say when he interrupts me.

"Really? Do you know that I thought about your boobs every time I saw you after we broke up?"

"What?"

"I did. Even when I was with Quinn. Every time you came in the room, I saw your naked boobs!"

"Finn!" I shout loudly.

"I'm a guy. Guy's are jerks. We can't help it."

I lie back down on the bed and pull the covers up. "You're being an idiot."

"I'm an idiot because I want to protect my girlfriend."

"No, you're being an idiot because your friend accidentally saw me naked and you assume it means he's going to attack me or something. You are the one who said he was harmless earlier."

He walks over and sits next to me on the bed.

"YEAH he was harmless BEFORE he saw you naked! But I don't think he's going to attack you. I just know that every time he sees you, he's going to know what you look like naked and I will want to punch him in the face."

I reach my arm over and run it down his chest. "Baby. I love when you get jealous I really do."

"Stop that." He says pushing my hand away. "Don't try and distract me from my mission."

I put my hand back against his chest and sit up. "Finny, baby, you can kill him tomorrow. Right now I just need my strong overprotective boyfriend." I kiss his neck and he grunts angrily.

"I'm not being overprotective." He pouts.

"I love when you act all crazy about me." I flick my tongue against his ear lobe and I feel his hand move up the small of my back.

"I'm always crazy about you." He slides his hand against my cheek and into my hair and pulls my mouth hard against his.

"I only want you baby." I whisper against his kisses.

"He might have seen you naked, but he'll never get you like this." He quickly strips the bed of the sheets and pushes me back against the bed.

"That's because I'm yours." I say looking up at him and I can see the lust in his eyes as he grabs both of my hands and pulls them above my head interlocking them with one of his.

"Only mine!" He growls as his other hand roughly grabs my breast and I feel his mouth wet against my nipple as I moan out. Finn rarely takes control like this and I can barely control myself as he nips at my breast and I can feel myself already soaking the sheets in excitement.

His hand roams down my body and when he reaches my center he lifts his head and smirks at me. "Someone is a little excited. Is that for me?"

"Baby you are the only one who turns me on like that." I pant.

"Good!" He says as I feel his fingers part my folds and he quickly slides a finger inside me and I scream out his name.

"Say it again!" He demands and I quickly hear his name fall from my lips as the motion of his fingers speed up and his thumb nudges my clit.

I try and move my hands but his grip tightens as he pulls his fingers from me and brings his hand just under my chin and I can smell the sex hit my nostrils. "I'm gonna make you cum baby." He whispers and I swear I almost cum just from the way he is looking at me.

I feel his knees move and push my leg to the side as his erection slides against my center and before I realize he has pushed inside me and I scream out loudly only to have his mouth quickly silence me. His hand moves back down and I feel his thumb and finger roughly pinch at my clit as he slams back inside me.

"Oh God Finn."

"You gonna cum for me baby?" He asks in my ear.

"Yes Finn."

"Just for me." He says as his tongue slides against my skin and his teeth nip at my neck.

"Only for you Finn." I say as I feel him slam hard against me and whisper "Mine" and I swear I see stars as my body is on fire and I feel the vibration of my orgasm hit me and I scream out and his hand tightens in mine as he grunts and I feel him explode inside me.

His hand loosens and he pulls one of my own to his mouth and kisses my fingers and my palm as he rolls over and slides out of me.

I put my hand on his sweaty cheek and look at him. "I love you Finn. You are the only man for me."

He brings his lips to mine and I taste the sweat and saliva from his face. "I love you Rach." He whispers.

I lean my head on his chest and close my eyes as his hands move lazily through my hair.

"I do love when you get jealous." I giggle.

"I wasn't jealous!" He laughs.

I look up at him and smile. "So Kyle is safe then?"

"Safe? Well, I'm not going to kill him anymore if that is what you want to know."

"Good." I say resting my head back on his chest.

"Doesn't mean I'm not gonna punch him in the nuts if he even looks at you wrong though."

"FINN!" I say smacking his chest. "Just leave him alone. You just tell me when you get all protective again and I'll make sure we go straight home." I look up and wink at him.

"Oh yeah?" He smirks. "So I get sex every time I get upset cuz someone else saw you naked?"

"Sure why not." I laugh.

"You think we could get Puck or Sam to walk in on you."

"FINN!" I shout!

"I'm KIDDING!" He laughs and I close my eyes again drifting off to sleep.


	28. Chapter 28

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 28**

**Blaine POV**

"Wait, let me understand this correctly. All those chicks out there are screaming for you?" Puck asks as he stares out from back stage at the crowd forming.

"Uh yeah I guess. I see a lot of familiar faces out there. They follow us around mostly." I answer.

"And none of them know you prefer dick?"

"JESUS PUCK!" Finn says as he walks up from the backstage tent.

"Um, yeah no one knows I'm gay." I say quietly.

"So you could totally have sex with all those chicks?"

"Well I wouldn't go that far." I chuckle and I see Sam roll his eyes toward Puck.

"Sorry, he's a little slow." Sam says patting Puck on the back.

"Dude seriously, this is insane. We need to start a band Sammy."

"Like you need more chicks. From your messages we get, you seem to get enough. I thought the clothing just fell off of them." Finn asks him.

"But this….this is epic dude. Do you realize you could just walk out there and pick one of them right now and they would probably drop to their knees and beg to blow you?"

"And I have a girlfriend so they are all yours." Finn replies.

"Kyle dude, it's you me and Sammy. We have a sea of chicks man!" Puck says walking over and putting his arm around Kyle.

"Yeah…uh…I guess I'm just being picky right now." Kyle says looking down at the ground and then picking up his guitar.

"Look at that red head staring at you Kyle. Who cares about being picky?"

"Nah, I'm kinda into brunettes right now." He replies. Finn snaps his head up and gives him a strange look.

"Yeah since when man?" Finn says in a tone that sounds sort of like anger but that doesn't make sense to me.

"I don't know. What the heck is your problem?" Kyle says as he stands up to his full height in front of Finn.

"Just seems you've always liked blondes."

"Yeah well, not right now."

Finn stares him down until Puck clears his throat and the two step away from each other.

Just then I see Kurt and Rachel in the back of the tent. "Hey, Rachel and Kurt are here." I point toward the tent and both Finn and Kyle start walking towards it. Finn looks livid as Kyle waves at Rachel and then walks over and sits by himself at one of the picnic tables. I remind myself to ask Finn what's going on later.

"Hey there sexy." Kurt says as he walks up to me. I look around and see that's it's only our band in the tent and I quickly give Kurt a peck on the lips.

"Hey to you too."

Just then our manager comes in and looks over at Kurt and me and then gathers us all together. "Ok guys it's a big show. We are getting really close to the big festival coming up so you guys have really got to bring the house down tonight. We need all these people to show up to that festival. It's your first real big paying gig. Now is not the time to screw up. So Finn, stop staring so much at your girlfriend during the show, we need those chicks to think they have a chance with you. And Blaine, you need to pay more attention to them too. Take a note out of Kyle's book and work the room gentleman. These are paying customers!"

Rachel looks unhappy but she's gotten used to his tone when it comes to her relationship. He starts to leave and calls me over.

"Yes sir."

"Do we need to talk about what I just saw when I came in here?"

"Excuse me" I ask confused.

"Are you one of them?"

"One of who?"

"The gays?" he says quietly.

"Are you asking if I'm gay, because if you are, then yes I am!" I say defiantly.

"Well what you do in your private life is your business, but you can't let this crap get out. If management group finds out that you're gay, they will shut you guys down."

"But, I don't get it. Why does it matter once we start bringing in people?"

"Just keep it where no one can see it. I'm telling you now because I like you guys." He turns and walks away and I frown. Kurt is going to be pissed.

I walk over to the picnic table where Kyle is sitting. "What the hell did he want?" Kyle asks as I sit down.

"Guess he thought I needed a pep talk." I answer flatly.

"He's an asshole." He responds.

Just then Rachel walks over. "Hey guys. Are you excited to go on?"

Kyle sits up quickly. "Oh hey Rachel, yeah I'm stoked. Are you going to be watching us tonight?"

"Oh um, yeah I'll be watching out in the crowd tonight with the boys."

"Awesome, I'll look for you!" He says excitedly. That's odd.

"Rach, I was looking everywhere for you." Finn says walking up and putting his arm around her protectively and looking over at Kyle suspiciously.

"Oh sorry, I was just checking on Blaine and Kyle."

"Well I'm going to borrow MY GIRLFRIEND!" He yells the end of his sentence and I look over at Kyle confused.

They walk away and I whisper over to Kyle. "Has he been drinking tonight?"

"I don't think so, but he's acting like a douchebag! I don't know how Rachel puts up with him."

The manager calls us to the stage and we prepare ourselves to go on.

"Alright boys, let's make new fans!" I shout.

"Yeah, I can't wait for them to hear our new stuff tonight." Kyle says jumping up and down. "The girls are going to go crazy."

"Yeah well seeing as you are SINGLE now, you can have all those girls out there….EXCEPT for MINE…ofcourse!" Finn says banging his drum sticks against his leg.

"Of course." Kyle shrugs as he takes the stage.

The show is a raving success. I've never seen Finn so intense on the drums. And Kyle was really killing his guitar solos. You would think they were having a duel or showing off to the audience almost.

We come off the stage to the normal throngs of girls handing us flowers and asking us to sign autographs.

"YOU GUYS WERE AMAZING!" Puck shouts as he jumps us at the bottom of the stairs. "Girls were practically coming out of their panties!"

"He got three different girls numbers by telling them he was friends with the band!" Sam laughs.

"I'm moving here and following you around so that I can date groupies. It's going to be my new job!" Puck announces.

"What the hell!" Finn says looking towards the back of the stage. We all turn and see Kyle handing some of the flowers he got from the girls to Rachel.

"What?" I ask.

"What the hell does he think he's doing?" Finn says as he storms toward Kyle. I quickly follow after him.

"Thank you Kyle." Rachel says quietly as we approach her.

"Yeah well, like I said, I usually give these to Tiff and I have no use for flowers." Kyle responds.

"Dude!" Finn says walking up to him and getting in his face.

"Woah." Kyle says backing up.

"Finn, stop this right now!" Rachel yells as she grabs Finn and pulls him back toward her. "He's just being nice."

"Yeah well be nice to someone else." Finn says grabbing Rachel by the hand and walking off with her toward the tent.

"What is wrong with him tonight?" I say confused. Kyle turns and stalks off toward the other side of the tent.

"Dude, Finn's acting jealous. Has Kyle ever hit on Rachel before?" Sam asks me.

"No never, actually they've never really even spoken before last week. He finds her annoying and she thinks he's a jerk usually." I answer him.

We all walk into the tent and grab some food.

"You guys were amazing!" Our manager says entering the tent. "Just one more show until the festival and tickets are flying out the door."

"Awesome." Finn shouts from the table in the corner.

"Yeah great." Kyle says shortly.

The manager looks at them both and then at me. "Just hold it together and you guys are finally going to be going places."

"Dude, you have to get me a job!" Puck says to me. I laugh as Sam turns and walks away and Kyle sits down next to us.

"So you went to school with Finn and Rachel?" Kyle asks Puck.

"Yeah. We grew up together. Finn's my boy and Rachel is like my little sister…well except for that time I dated her cuz that would have been gross."

"Oh you dated Rachel?" He asks.

"Well yeah, not long though. I mean more like I made out with her until she dumped me for Finn. And then I made out with her until Finn dumped her. It's complicated man!"

"What's complicated?" Sam asks sitting back down at the table with his food.

"Dating Rachel, making out with Rachel, being friends with Rachel." Puck says.

"Oh yeah well that is complicated." Sam laughs.

"Wait, you dated her too?" Kyle says looking at Sam.

"No, not really. I just kissed her, but it was weird. She's like a sister to me."

"What the hell did you all kiss her?" Kyle jokes.

"Actually…." I say. Kyle spits his water across the table.

"Man, I thought you liked dudes." Kyle whispers.

"I do. Relax Kyle. It was spin the bottle in high school. Why the sudden interest in Rachel?" I ask starting to get worried.

"I'm not interested in Rachel, I'm just asking questions. Getting to know you guys. Why would you think I'm interested in Rachel, cuz I'm not? She's a pain in the ass!" He says as he stands up and walks back toward the food.

"That dude is weird." Puck says shoving his face full of chips.

"Hey guys." Rachel says as she walks over and sits next to Puck. "Did you guys have fun?" She says to Sam and Puck and then looks at me. "By the way, you were awesome tonight."

"Thanks Rachel."

"It was so cool. I'm living and breathing this band until we go home." Puck shouts.

"Hey what's up with Finn?" I ask Rachel and I see her eyes shoot up and look at me.

"Why? Why would anything be up with Finn?"

"He and Kyle just seem to be going at it tonight."

"Oh, I didn't notice." She says looking around the tent. Something is definitely going on. I see Finn heading out to the port-o-potty and I jump up to follow him out.

"Ok spill. Something is up and I want to know what it is?" I ask as he steps out of the stall.

"Dude I just got done taking a piss, can't a man breathe?" Finn sighs.

"You've been acting like a jealous boyfriend all night. What happened?"

Finn hangs his head. "He fucking saw her naked!" He shouts.

"Wait, who saw who naked?"

"Kyle walked in on Rachel naked the other day."

Well this makes more sense now. "Ok is that all?"

"IS THAT ALL? That jerk saw her naked. And now he's giving her flowers and acting all weird around her. I know he's checking her out. I swear to God the only reason I haven't killed him is because Rachel made me swear I wouldn't."

"Relax Finn. I get it. But Rachel isn't going to leave you for Kyle because he saw her ta ta's."

"Jesus Blaine! I never said she was going to leave me for that jerk." Finn says as his mouth hangs open.

"Then what is it?"

"He saw her naked. He's acting all strange now. No one should get to see her naked but me!"

"Just give it time and it will die down."

"And what if he falls in love with her?"

I start laughing. "People don't fall in love with someone just because they see them naked Finn."

"You've never seen Rachel naked!" He says raising his eyebrow.


	29. Chapter 29

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 29**

**Finn POV**

"Just have a nice night tonight, but take a cab home ok?" Rachel says walking out of the bathroom.

"Babe, we'll be fine. And no one is driving. I told you we would be careful."

Tonight is a big guy's night out as Blaine and I are taking Puck and Sam to our favorite hangout spot. I've been looking forward to it all week.

"Ok, well come home safely and I just might wait up for you." She turns and slaps me on the butt and walks out of the room. I definitely plan on coming home safely tonight!

I head out to the living room and Blaine and Kyle are finishing up their game of Call of Duty. I didn't invite Kyle, but Blaine said it would be nice if we included him since he's been so lonely after his break up with Tiffany. I would prefer the guy stay at home and cry over his own ex instead of making eyes at my girlfriend. I've watched him for a week as he pulls her chair out for her, tells her he likes her dresses, or the way her hair is done up. It's driving me insane but Rachel insists he's just being nice.

"We ready to get our party on?" Puck asks from the couch.

"Yeah let's get out of here." I say staring over at Kyle who is once again complimenting Rachel on her new perfume.

Rachel looks up and smiles at me and walks over to hug me. "Play nice baby." She whispers in my ear.

"Kurt are you sure you don't want to come?" Blaine says as Kurt plops down on the couch.

"Oh I'm positive. A nice quiet night at home sounds so refreshing compared to beer farts and loud music." He says grabbing the DVD to 'Funny Girl' and pulling it out of the case.

We climb in the taxi van and head over to the bar that is run by our management group. We all grab a booth at the back and order a round of shots.

"Here's to a night of no regrets!" Puck says holding up his shot. We all raise our glasses and slam them back.

Two hours later we are feeling pretty tipsy and we find ourselves at the pool table attempting to play.

"Dude, look at that one!" Puck shouts over at me and points to a busty dark haired girl at the bar.

"What about her?" I ask.

"Dude, just because you have a girlfriend doesn't mean your eyes fell out of your head! LOOK AT HER!"

"She's ok Puck! What do you want me to say? Nice boobs though." I laugh.

"Rachel has great boobs." I hear Kyle say from the other side of the pool table.

"Excuse me?" I shout. He looks up quickly and then at the other guys.

"Nothing." He replies.

I set my stick down and start to walk over to him when Sam grabs me by the shirt. "Relax man, he's drunk."

"Another round." Puck shouts to the waitress and I head over to the table and grab another beer.

"You got a real problem with him don't you?" Sam says sitting down next to me.

"Jackass can't stop staring at my girl. My girl Sam. My Rachel. He can't do that!" I say feeling my words starting to run together and my head spinning. Maybe it's time I stop drinking.

"Well, Rachel's a cool girl. Maybe he just thinks she's nice."

"He saw her naked dude. NAKED! WITH NO CLOTHES!"

"Ok Finn, being naked usually means no clothing. But why did he see her naked?"

"Because he's a scumbag just waiting around for girls to be naked so he can walk in on them!" I say feeling myself getting angrier and I quickly slam back another beer to keep myself from striding over and killing the asshole standing at the pool table with the stupid look on his face.

"Ok, he walked in her. Is that all?" IS HE SERIOUS? He thinks it's no big deal.

"Hey guys, more beer!" Puck says sitting down on the chair beside me and dropping back another bottle.

"Can you believe we are sitting here together, drinking in a bar, and none of us are legal!"

"Yeah well management group runs this place and the bands get their way with whatever we want." Blaine says taking the seat across from me.

"Who would have thought we'd be here? In New York, together!" Puck says slapping me on the back.

"It's very awesome!" I agree.

"And we are all getting laid! And no one got anyone pregnant this time!" Puck shouts and downs another shot.

"That is pretty amazing even for you dude!" I laugh as I drink my own shot.

"At least I didn't get Rachel knocked up. Thank God I only slept with one of your girlfriends." I laugh until I realize that's not really funny.

"I don't let anyone sleep with my girlfriends anymore!" I announce to the table.

"I bet Rachel is good in the sack!" I hear Kyle say quietly from the other side of the table.

"There you go again!" I say standing up.

"Woah, calm down Finn." Sam says pulling me back down in my chair. "Everyone has had a bit too much to drink, let's just relax."

"No. This asshole keeps talking about Rachel and it's really starting to make me angry."

"Dude chill, your girlfriend's body is smoking hot as hell! You should be happy about that!" Kyle shouts.

"I KNOW SHE'S HOT! What I don't like is you knowing it too!" I shrug Sam off my shirt and walk towards Kyle.

"Why don't you just back off man!" He says as he tries to get in my face. I have a pretty big height difference on him so I'm really happy that I tower over him.

"Why don't you stop staring at my girlfriend like she's freaking dessert all the time?"

"You don't deserve someone like her!" He yells.

"What do you even know about her; a week ago you thought she was a nagging pain in the ass!"

"That was before I realized how hot her ass was!"

I don't know what happened next but before I realize what is going on I'm on the floor with my fist connecting to his jaw and Puck and Blaine pulling me up by the waist. It's just enough distraction for Kyle to recover and get in a few jabs to my cheek. I fall backwards into whoever is standing behind me and we all land on top of the table knocking over the pitchers of beer. I hear the bartender yelling but all I see is Kyle getting up off the ground and I charge at him and take him down in a tackle to the ground.

"Stay. Away. From. Rachel." I say as I land a punch in between each word.

I feel two strong arms grab me from behind and yank me up off the ground and I turn to see one of the bouncers holding me back. "Break it up assholes!"

I look over at Kyle and yank myself away from the bouncer and head for the door. On my way out I kick the nearest chair in front of me and it shatters against the wall but I just keep walking until I hit the corner where I stop and sit on the sidewalk. I don't know how long I sat there staring at the neon sign of the copier place across the street. It felt like hours and my head started hurting and when I ran my hands through my hair I realized I had blood on my hands.

"Finn Hudson!" I hear from behind me. I look back and through the haze I see a girl standing looking down at me. She doesn't look happy and as I squint my eyes, Rachel's face comes into focus. Shit!

"Hey baby! Am I dreaming?" I say smiling at her.

"You are going to wish you were dreaming when I'm done with you." She grabs me by the jacket and yanks me up from the ground. "What were you thinking?"

"Baby I was defending your honor and your ass!" Her mouth drops as she turns and starts walking back toward the bar. "Rach, wait." I say running after her.

She hails a cab and quickly climbs in. I stand on the corner staring at her when the window rolls down.

"Are you getting in this cab or am I leaving you?" She huffs and I quickly jump in the other side of the cab.

"Baby…" I start to say.

"Don't you baby me Finn Christopher Hudson! Don't even talk to me right now." She folds her arms and I quickly get quiet.

We ride in silence to the loft and she storms up the stairs when the cab parks on the curb. I quickly pay the man who wishes me good luck and I follow her up to the loft.

I walk in the apartment and I can hear her in the bedroom. Kurt is sitting in the living room watching TV and his mouth drops when I walk in.

"You look like hell! But I think you are going to feel worse when she's done with you." He chuckles.

I drag myself back to the bedroom and throw myself down on the bed. "Get off that bed right now." Rachel yells as she comes out of the bathroom. "I am not washing blood off our sheets!"

I sit up quickly and carry myself over to the desk chair.

"Just what the hell were you trying to do?" She says quietly as she lifts the cold rag to my head. It stings when it makes contact with my face and I wonder what all damage was done.

"He started talking crap about your body being hot. I got pissed."

"Men!" She groans as she presses hard against my cheek.

"Oww babe, that hurts."

"GOOD!" She says quickly. "Hold up your hands." She demands.

She scoffs as she sees my knuckles and I'm shocked by the broken skin there. "You are a drummer Finn; you can't go destroying your hands. No matter what you are defending!"

"I was protecting your honor babe!" I grin up at her.

"Don't make that face at me! I'm mad at you!" She says walking back into the bathroom. She comes out with more washcloths and some antiseptic. It stings like crazy and I almost think she is enjoying causing me pain.

"Now, tomorrow I want you to go over to Kyle's and apologize!"

"What? No way!"

"Finn, he's in the band. Make it right."

"What the hell Rachel! I'm not doing that." I complain.

"Yes you are! This is not about me, this is about you and Blaine and the fact that you guys have a very big show next weekend and I don't want you fighting on stage."

"Screw the show!" I say grabbing the wash cloth from her hands and wiping my fingers clean.

She grabs me by the face and I look up at her. "Don't do this. Don't act like this. I love you Finn. But this isn't you."

I look away from her. "I'm sorry, I know you hate fighting. But he…" She immediately cuts me off.

"Finn, it's nothing. I don't care what he said. Just fix it." She continues cleaning my face in silence and I watch as she pays close attention to every scrape and bruise I have.

"I love you." I whisper as I grab her hand before she walks away again.

"I love you too. Even though you are going to look awful in the morning." She laughs.

"I was never pretty to begin with." I say pulling her down onto my lap.

She laughs and tries to stand up again. "Finn, let go. I'm still mad at you."

"Come on babe, aren't you just a little turned on by me right now. I did defend your honor!"

She pushes off of me. "Not in the slightest turned on Finn. You got in a fight."

"And I won." I smirk. She walks back in to the bathroom but I can see her smile to herself in the reflection of the mirror.

She comes back out and stares at me. "Fighting is bad Finn."

"You didn't say that when we were watching West Side Story. You got all kinds of turned on during that. You thought it was hot."

"That's different Finn! That's a movie! Now take off your clothes." She walks over and stands in front of me.

"Hell yeah!" I say reaching for the hem of my shirt and pulling it over my head. And that's when the pain hits me. "Son of a!"

Rachel quickly reaches for my shirt and continues lifting it the rest of the way over my head. "I need to wash them silly! Before the blood sets in." Once she has my shirt off I pull her toward me and her hands push up against my chest. "Finn!" She yells.

"I think you like this." I say raising my eyebrow at her.

"That's ridiculous. What you did is barbaric." She rolls her eyes but I feel her brush her hips harder against me.

"Really, so if I were to….I don't know…touch you here…." I slide my hand up her skirt and brush against her panties. She's wet to the touch. "That's what I thought." I smirk. "You're getting off on this." She clinches her legs together and tries to stand up.

"No I'm not." She says quietly but she stops pushing me away this time.

I push my hands into her hair and wrap my hand around the back of her neck, pulling her mouth hard against mine and it doesn't take much to push my tongue into her mouth and her arms wrap around my neck.

"You're so hot right now." She breathes against my neck.

I reach between us and push her panties aside and brush my finger along her folds which are now slick to the touch as I slide my finger inside her and she moans into my ear causing shivers to run down my spine.

I can still taste the booze on my tongue as it mixes with the sweet taste of fruit that Rachel must have been eating before coming to get me. Suddenly she grabs my hand and pushes it out of her as she reaches between us and yanks on the button of my jeans.

"Damn babe." I chuckle as she quickly yanks at my zipper and reaches in freeing my dick from inside my pants.

She brings her lips back to mine as she wraps her legs around me, pushing hard up against my erection as her hands roam my chest and arms causing me to wince more than once in pain from the bruises forming there.

"You are so sexy!" I groan against her lips.

"You turn me on so much right now." She says as she lifts herself up and sinks down hard on my cock, moaning loudly at the contact. She bucks against me wildly as our lips never leave each other and I feel my heart racing and the dizziness taking over from the booze setting in my brain. It's almost too much to handle and when she arches herself backward and her hands reach down between us, I look down and see her touching herself and I can't take it anymore.

"Fuck babe I'm gonna cum." I grunt out as I explode. She slams back down on me until her fingers cause her own explosion and her head comes forward resting on my shoulder.

"I told you it turned you on."

She laughs into my shoulder and then pulls herself off of me. "Yeah well don't make this a habit. I don't know what came over me just now." She turns and walks back to the bathroom and I hear her turn on the shower.

"Ok now go get cleaned up so you don't mess up the sheets!" She says pushing me up off the chair.

"You know I could totally give you the play by play of the fight if you think that might induce some more excitement afterwards."

"Oh don't you start with me Finn. You are going to need your sleep if you are going to get up early and go talk to Kyle."

"What? Babe you were serious about that!" I complain.

"Of course I am! You are going to apologize. In fact, take Kurt; he is always good when people need to be sensitive."

"You are making me take my brother so I can apologize!"

"Would you prefer I go?" She says crossing her arms.

"Hell NO!" I shout as I climb into the shower.

She pokes her head into the bathroom. "Then you are taking Kurt." She grins as she shuts the bathroom door.

I groan as I wash myself off and scrub some of the dry blood off my hands. I don't want to talk to Kyle tomorrow. I don't want to apologize for kicking his ass either. But I don't want the band to break up. I don't even know what Blaine thinks about all this. I know he pulled me off of Kyle at some point, but I don't want to be the reason that his dreams are destroyed. I let the hot water hit my skin as I stand there with my eyes closed until the water starts to run cold.

I towel off and walk back into the bedroom. Rachel is lying on her side with her eyes closed as I slide in beside her and wrap my arms around her.

"I'm sorry for fighting." I whisper in her ear and she rolls back against me.

"You really are hot when you get all angry and dangerous." She giggles as she rolls over to face me.

"Oh yeah! Well I was all sorts of dangerous tonight." I say running my fingertips down her side.

"While I don't condone violence, but I do bet you were all hot when you started fighting." She giggles as my fingers slide up and grip her ass.

"Baby, I think I even broke a chair on the way out."

Suddenly she pulls away and tosses her head back laughing. "Oh no not another chair Finn!"


	30. Chapter 30

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 30**

**Finn POV**

"You know you can stay in the car right? You don't have to do everything Rachel tells you."

"Are you kidding? And miss this? No way!"

"All I'm doing is telling the asshole I'm sorry for pounding his face in."

"Wow, well already you've lost that sensitive side we have all grown to love and adore."

"Fuck sensitivity. I don't understand why I have to be nice to him?"

"Because he's in your band and you need to continue to work with him. Because you should never punch someone in the face without at least saying you're sorry. And because Rachel told you if you didn't she wouldn't have sex with you anymore."

"Jesus, do you listen in on all of our conversations?"

"Only the really interesting ones."

My mouth drops as I look at him in disgust. "I figured you'd be happy if we stopped having sex so why did you agree to come along?"

"Because Rachel told me if I didn't come along she would make me eat that vegan pizza she makes, and I just can't handle that stuff. It tastes like cardboard."

"So she's basically blackmailing us both."

"Well I could eat cardboard; you on the other hand would die without sex. And I couldn't let you go alone and screw it all up because listening to you whine about not getting sex is almost as bad as you having it very loudly in the next room."

I roll my eyes and get out of the car in front of Kyle's house. I can't believe Rachel is actually making me apologize, but sending Kurt with me makes it even worse. Like I can't do this myself so I have to bring a babysitter!

"This is exciting though." He says getting out of the car and rubbing his hands together.

"Well I'm glad you seem to be excited about doing this." I reach up and rub my jaw. Waking up this morning and looking in the mirror was not a pretty sight. The bruises are starting to show on my face and I realize that Kyle got in a lot more direct hits to my face than I thought.

I knock on his door. "Well, he's not home, let's go." I say quickly turning and walking away from the door. Kurt grabs me by the shirt and pulls me back to the door.

"Oh no you don't! Don't make me tell Rachel you chickened out."

"Chickened out! I'm not afraid of the son of a…Kyle." I say as Kyle opens the door interrupting me. I look down at him and smirk as I see the black eye on his face and notice that he looks worse than I do.

"Hey, can we talk?"

"No." He says starting to close the door. I quickly push the door open and block it with my foot.

"Wait, look I just want to say something." He looks at me and then at Kurt.

"He your babysitter?" He smirks.

"Funny. Look can we just come in?"

"Fine!" He says turning around and walking into the house. Kurt and I both follow him toward the living room. He throws himself down on the couch and I see him hide a grimace and put his hand on his ribs. Serves you right asshole.

I sit down on the chair opposite him, being careful not to show the pain on my own face.

"So talk." He says.

"Look, about last night." I start to say.

"You mean when you beat my face in for no reason?"

"NO REASON!" I shout and I see Kurt put his hand up and shake his head no. I sit back in the chair. "Look, I shouldn't have hit you." I say gritting my teeth.

"No shit Sherlock."

"Listen asshole, don't make me regret coming over here." I look over at Kurt and his eyes are the size of saucers. "What I meant to say is I'm sorry for hitting you."

He nods and I just want to get up from the chair and pummel the smirk off his face.

"You being forced to come over here?" He asks.

"Why would you think I'm being forced?" I say as I feel my fists clench.

"Figured Blaine made you come make this right."

"Actually he told me to deal with this as I felt I should. So I'm here! Apologizing." I swallow hard.

"So Rachel made you do this?" He says and I immediately tense as her name leaves his lips.

"Rachel thinks there is no reason for us to be fighting, so here I am."

"That was nice of her to think of me like that."

Kurt sits up in his chair immediately and gives me a look that tells me to relax. "Dude don't push your luck!" I say sitting forward on the chair. "Look, I know what happened at the loft with you and her."

His eyes flinch. "Oh." He says quietly.

"I get it dude. Rachel has this way about her that really sticks with you. Trust me; I tried to get her out of my system more than once. There's something about her though."

"And that body of hers. Oh my God."

I flinch and my knuckles are bruising against the armrest. "OK! Let's just not go there ok."

He looks down at the floor and I continue. "The point I am making is that while Rachel is a freaking amazing woman, who yes, has an amazing body. She's MY amazing woman and that's not going to change, like ever."

His looks back up and locks his gaze on me. Kurt looks like he's ready to pounce. Kyle sighs. "So like there's no chance you are gonna get bored or you know take a break or wanna let me borrow her for a night?"

"What the hell?" I shout jumping up out of the chair and Kurt quickly stands up and pushes me back.

"DUDE! I WAS KIDDING!" Kyle yells laughing and covering his face.

I step back and sit down in the chair again.

"I get it. Rachel is yours." He says once I sit back down.

"Yes, Rachel and I have been together a long time now. And I've been an idiot in the past and taken her for granted, but that's not happening again. And frankly, she's my whole world. So I need to know if we are going to have a problem with that or can we continue working together?"

He sighs again and then nods his head. "Yeah, we can work together. No more comments about your girl. I promise."

I reach across the table and extend my hand. He leans over and shakes my hand.

"Bros right?" I say as he grips my hand.

"Yeah bros. That doesn't mean I don't still think she's hot though ok?"

I bite the inside of my cheek. "I guess I'll just have to deal with that." Kurt smiles at me.

"Cool. And you know, if you ever do decide, you know that it's not gonna work out between you two. You'll let me know first right?"

"Not on your life." I laugh.

As we climb back in the car Kurt looks over at me and smiles.

"What?"

"That was really good Finn. You handled him very well."

"You mean because I didn't punch him in the face again?"

He laughs. "Well yes that, but you handled him talking about Rachel in a very mature manner."

"Yeah well I'm glad on the outside I looked mature, because inside I wanted to kick him and throw sand in his face."

"Oh, well then you did REALLY well in there."

"So I'm guessing that means I get sex again?" I say as I pull up to the loft.

"Not from me dude."

I look over and shoot him a dirty look. "HAHA! You really are a funny guy Kurt!"

"I thought maybe that whole sensitivity thing might have opened your eyes to a new world."

"Yeah well you tried that back in high school. You see where that got you." I laugh.

"Yeah I wasn't planning on becoming your brother or turning you on to the midget."

"Can't always get what you want bro." I laugh as I climb out of the car.

When we enter the loft I can hear Rachel laughing loudly. Kurt and I follow the laughter and find her and Blaine sitting on the floor in front of the Xbox.

"Over there, get that one." Blaine yells.

Rachel squeals and jerks the remote to the right. "Oh no no, you have to go bad guy. Run bad guy run!" She yells as she shoots the enemy on the screen.

"There's one behind you, turn back." Blaine says pointing at the TV.

"No, you're not getting me bad guy." She pulls the remote to the left and I laugh because I know that jerking the remote doesn't do anything but she looks adorable when she gets into the game.

"I got him." Blaine says.

"YES! That's all of them! We kick butt!" She says high fiving Blaine.

"I think I'm being replaced on Strike team Gold." I say startling both Blaine and Rachel.

"Finn!" She says standing up and hugging me. I groan when she comes into contact with my ribs and she pulls back quickly.

"Gentle babe." I remind her.

"Sorry baby, I forgot." She glances over at Kurt. "So? How did it go?"

Blaine looks up at us. He's been very quiet about the whole ordeal and told me he understood if I wanted to look for a new guitar player. But Kyle's good. Not like normal good, but special good. I knew he wanted me to fix this, but he was willing to do whatever I needed.

"It went very well. They shook hands and acted like gentleman." Kurt says and Blaine smiles and nods at me.

"Yeah, we're good. Where are Puck and Sam?" I ask looking around the room.

"They went out hunting I think." Rachel says and I frown.

"What?"

"You know hunting for chicks." Blaine says from the floor.

I laugh and walk into the kitchen to grab a soda from the fridge. When I walk back in the room Rachel and Kurt are whispering.

"Don't trust me?" I say to her.

"Of course I trust you Finn. Kurt was just telling me how well you handled yourself."

"I was very good Rach. Almost angelic you might say." She giggles.

"Oh really."

"Yes, I think good behavior should be rewarded, don't you." I say pulling her in to my chest.

"Well I do suppose that is true."

I grin down at her and she pulls back and walks to the kitchen and I follow her looking confused.

When I walk in the kitchen she is halfway in the freezer and comes back out with a box of ice cream.

"I'll make you a sundae." She grins.

I groan. "That wasn't exactly what I had in mind."

"Oh? I'm not sure what you mean?" She says smirking.

"Yes you do. So unless that sundae is going to be covering your body, I'm not interested in ice cream." I say grabbing the box from her hands, tossing it onto the counter and pushing her back against the fridge as I bring my lips down onto hers.

"Finn." She sighs against my skin.

"Oh Lord, can you two go back to fighting?" Kurt says behind us and I grunt as Rachel escapes from my arms. I turn back and look at Kurt and frown.

"There's a word for people like you Kurt, I believe it's cockblock!"

"Finn!" Rachel says turning around and putting her hand over her mouth.

"You shouldn't call gay guys that Finn; it's such a turn on." He says winking at me and walking out of the room. I shiver. That's going to take a few months to forget.

"He does that to me on purpose." I say.

"You were asking for it." She giggles.

"I seem to recall I was asking for something else before he came in."

"Really, and what would that be?" She says walking up to me and running her hands through my hair.

"I want ice cream with a whipped creamed Rachel Berry on top." I feel her shiver in my arms as I reach back and grab the ice cream box and put it back in the freezer. "On second thought." I say as I pull the whipped cream from the freezer and take her hand leading her to the bedroom. "I'll just take the whipped creamed Berry."


	31. Chapter 31

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 31**

**Kurt POV**

"Are you watching this?" I say poking Blaine as he sleeps on the couch beside me. "They are talking about you next." Blaine stirs beside me. "FINN, RACHEL! Get in here." I yell to the back bedroom where I'm sure Finchel are working on their fourth round of making my ears bleed. I hear the door open and Finn yell out.

"What? This better be good bro! She's got chocolate!"

"You're about to be on TV pervert and put our food back in the damn kitchen." I yell.

Five minutes later the four of us are sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for the "shocking" news about One Night Stand to air.

"What was the news about?" Finn questions.

"I don't know, it just said shocking news about this weekend's headlining band."

The news anchor comes on and a picture of us pops on the screen. "Hey that was a couple of weeks ago when we all went to eat that night." I say pointing at the photo of the band with Rachel and me in the parking lot of our favorite pizza joint.

"You may not have heard of them, but this band is quickly making headlines and bringing in a swarm of crazy followers and they haven't even headlined their own show yet." The anchor begins speaking and Blaine and Finn high five each other. "But we have news behind the scenes about trouble that may split this band before they even get started."

We all look at each other confused.

"Sources close to the band tell of a love triangle between two of the members of the band and a female. The source says that Drummer Finn and the lead guitarist Kyle are in the middle of a nasty feud over Finn's girlfriend. The source states that an actual one night stand between the guitarist and the drummer's girlfriend Rachel may be what started the feud."

"WHAT!" Rachel yells standing up from the couch. "What is this crap?"

"The boys have come to blows, exchanging physical punches and rumors of a split are already on the rise. But that may not even be the biggest news to come from our source."

Finn smacks his hand into his face. "What is this shit?"

"Our source is also telling us that lead singer Blaine Anderson is actually in a relationship but not with who you think. Our source says this relationship is with another guy. Our source says that Kurt, one of the stage hands is romantically linked to the singer. This is a shocking turn as Blaine is in high demand by the screaming throngs of girls that attend their shows weekly. Only time will tell if they will stick around to continue to support him. If there even is a band to support before this weekend's big festival. Back to you Bob."

I look over at Blaine who is staring with his mouth open at the screen. I have no idea how this happened.

"What is this crap? I'm a freaking stage hand now?" I laugh trying to make light of the news we just witnessed. But no one is joining me in the laughter.

"I'll kill him." Finn yells standing up quickly.

"You don't think he's the source do you?" Blaine questions.

"Who, what?" Rachel asks.

"Kyle! Of course it has to be Kyle." Finn says punching the couch as he jumps up and grabs his cell phone, but before he dials the phone is ringing.

"Figured you would call." Finn says into the phone. "Yeah well if it's not you then who?" Finn turns and gestures to Blaine who gets up and walks over to Finn.

"No way, you can't blame my friends on this. They would never talk to the press about our band. Sam and Puck are loyal." Finn says as the door opens and Sam and Puck walk into the room.

"Yo dudes, where is the partaaaay?" Puck yells and everyone turns quickly and tells him to be quiet.

They both stare at the four of us huddled around Finn's phone.

"What did we miss?" Sam asks quietly.

"I swear Kyle, if I find out you said anything. Yeah yeah see you soon." Finn hangs up the phone and looks over at Blaine who is also on his phone now.

"I don't know sir. Yes sir. Ok sir, see you in a bit." He hangs up. "That was Todd with management group. They want to meet with us and find out what happened."

"Shit." Finn says and then turns to look at Puck and Noah. "Please tell me you two didn't get drunk and start talking to the media about Blaine and me?"

"What? What the hell are you guys talking about?" Puck asks confused.

We rewind the news clip and play it for Sam and Puck who sit there staring at the screen in shock. "Woah. What the hell is this? You guys are already tabloid material. ROCK ON!" Puck shouts.

"I'm ever so glad you find this exciting Noah!" Rachel chastises him.

"Ok ok. So who would have known all of that info?" Sam asks looking over at Finn.

"I don't know. I mean no one knew about the fight with Kyle and me unless they were at the bar. But then whoever was at the bar wouldn't have known about Blaine and Kurt and Kurt wasn't at the bar that night." Finn answers.

"Then it's gotta be someone on the inside who knows all of you." Sam counters.

"Someone who's no longer on the inside." I say as I realize I know who the source is.

Everyone looks at me. "What?"

"Think about it. Who knows about Blaine and me and hates Rachel?" I say looking at Rachel.

Her mouth drops. "Tiffany!" She says.

"Tiffany doesn't know about the crap with Kyle though. They were already broke up." Finn says to Rachel.

"Yeah and you and I were broke up but you still talked to me." She grins.

Just then the door flings open and Kyle walks in. "I swear it wasn't me."

Finn turns to him quickly and Kyle steps back. "Did you tell Tiffany about Rachel?" He yells.

"What the hell dude?" Kyle says looking cornered. Rachel walks over and grabs Finn by the sleeve pulling him back.

"Finn, stop it. Kyle, have you talked to Tiffany recently?" She asks him.

"Yeah I mean I talked to her the other day."

"What did you tell her? EXACTLY!" Finn demands.

"What is this about? Wait, you think Tiffany is the source." He says sitting down. "Shit. You think she would do that?"

"I think she might." Blaine says quietly behind me. I look over at him and he looks sad.

"Did you tell her you fucking slept with my girlfriend?" Finn asks angrily.

"No way. Not at all. I mean I told her I kinda thought she was hot and stuff and that you and I got in a fight over her, but that was all."

"That might have been enough to make her angry." Rachel says quietly looking up at Finn.

"Now what?" Kyle asks.

"We have a meeting in an hour with management group." Blaine says softly. I can tell he's worried. This is bigger to him than worrying about someone thinking his girlfriend slept with someone else. This was a public outing on national television about his sexuality. Something he was doing everything to keep quiet and now I understand why.

"Do you want me to come?" I ask walking over to him.

"Yeah, I think we all need to go. They are going to want to get all our stories straight."

"Dude even us? Cause that would be so kick ass." Puck announces.

"You can come just in case." Blaine says as he grabs his coat and heads for the door.

To say the meeting room looks tense would be an understatement of the highest kind. I've never really liked the guys in charge of this group. To me, making the guys hide who they are is worse than lying about it and being caught. But he makes the money so who am I to argue.

"So who stepped in it?" Bob asks everyone in the room.

"Excuse me?" Blaine asks looking around at us all. "Stepped in what?"

"Who talked to the press? Is this some sort of fame thing?" He says looking over at Puck and Sam who both put their hands up and step back. "Are you feeling a bit left out because your boyfriend is more successful than you?" He says staring at Rachel.

"HEY! Don't talk to her like that!" Finn says stepping forward. "Rachel didn't do this!"

"Says you. All I know is we got someone attention whore stirring up things with this band. I've been in this business long enough to know that when that happens it's someone on the inside." He turns quickly and looks at me.

"What about you?" He asks me. I point to myself and he continues. "You pissed I made your boy pretend to be straight?"

"I didn't like it, but if you think I ran my mouth about it, you are wrong. I love Blaine; I wouldn't do that to him."

"Just stop." Blaine says stepping in front of me. "We think we know who it is."

Kyle steps forward. "I think it's my ex. Tiffany."

"Blonde girl with the big tata's?" Bob asks?

"Yeah." Kyle says quietly.

"Ok, so damage control. We need to get ahead of this quickly. We need photos of Kyle and Finn hanging out having a good time. Go bowling or something. Rachel, get lost."

Finn's mouth drops and Rachel stomps her foot. "What the hell?" Finn shouts.

"I don't want you to be photographed with her for a while. Let this die down. Right now we just want you boys getting along without the chick in the mix." Rachel sits down and he turns to Blaine. "And you go on a date. Make her really hot too, in fact, I'll set it up, you just show up."

What the heck? "I'm not going out with a girl."

"Your contract staying valid means you will. Now go out, have a good time, make her feel special and give no doubt you are straight."

"But I'm not." He says.

"You are if I say you are." Bob says angrily.

"Is he supposed to have sex with her to prove he's straight?" I say angrily.

"I don't care if he does or doesn't. It would help if he did, but I'm not your pimp boy." He says patting Blaine on the back.

"This is crap." Finn announces and everyone nods their head in approval.

"I get that you don't like it. But if you want to headline that show this weekend, you will do as I say."

"Or what?" Finn says getting in his face.

"Or I'll find another band that will."

Blaine grabs Finn by the arm and turns toward the door.

"You're going to let him do this?" I ask Blaine as he walks past.

"We don't have a choice right now Kurt."

Rachel is crying and I walk over and put my arm around her as we follow the boys out of the room.

"This is garbage." Finn shouts as we get back in the van.

"I'm so sorry guys." Kyle says quietly from the back of the van. "I understand if you want me out."

Finn scoffs in the front but looks over at Rachel who nods at him. "Nah dude, it's ok. It's not your fault that Tiffany is a loud mouthed bitch."

"Are you guys really going to just drop trou and bend over and take it?" Puck asks.

"We don't have a choice right now." Blaine says quietly as he looks out the window. "We just need to get through this show and see what happens. Right now they are all we got."

I put my arm around Rachel and she sighs as she puts her head on my shoulder. This sure isn't the brand new start we all planned on.


	32. Chapter 32

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 32**

**Rachel POV**

"No mom, Rachel and I did not break up. Everything is fine." Finn looks over at me and shrugs his shoulders.

"How did you even hear about this mom? It's not like New York news gets broadcast in Lima." I get out of bed and quickly get ready for a shower. Today is a busy day. I have my recital tomorrow and I'm really nervous. With all the attention on the band and the "scandal" lately, I haven't been focused on my solo.

"Google search? You hardly use the computer... Oh well I will have to thank Kurt for showing you how to add the band to your Google news search." I laugh as Finn groans and throws himself on the bed.

"No mom, it's not a big deal. It was just a disagreement that's all…. Yes he does have a black eye... Mom, don't lecture me right now."

I leave the room and climb in the shower. I can't believe all of this has taken place in one week. I need to rehearse for most of the day today just to be ready to sing tomorrow. Finn has his "date" with Kyle tonight so I should be alone for most of the time to prepare myself. His manager told Finn he couldn't attend the recital. And I'm a little disappointed that he won't be there. It's not fair that this loser gets to decide when Finn is allowed to be supportive of his girlfriend. I hate feeling like I'm a poison to this band. All because someone saw me naked. I have to laugh at the thought because back in high school people would have just laughed if they saw me naked. Now my naked body has put me at the center of a huge scandal between two very cute men.

I finish my shower and dry off; walking back in the room. Finn rolls his eyes at me from the bed.

"Yes mom, I know that fighting is wrong. But I told you that I was just defending Rachel."

I giggle and start to get dressed.

"Look I have to go. I'll call you after this weekend ok. I'm sure your Google news stream will have plenty of updates of my whereabouts after the music fest... Yes mom, I'll brush my hair this time."

"I'm guessing Carole isn't enjoying your recent scandal."

"Oh my God. I'm gonna kill Kurt for setting that news thing up for her. She's all worried that we are having threesomes and doing heroine or something."

"Finn, I'm sure you're exaggerating. She just wants to make sure you are ok."

He looks in the mirror. "What's wrong with my hair like this?" He says ruffling his hair.

"Well that is one point I am going to have to disagree with your mom on. I love it when you wear your hair all messy." I run my hands through his hair and stand up on my toes to kiss his lips.

As I pull away he groans. "Why the rush?"

"Finn, I have a lot to do today. My recital is tomorrow and I'm behind on my rehearsals."

He frowns. "That's my fault. I'm sorry Rach."

I continue getting dressed, watching him in the mirror as he sits at the desk and stares out the window. After a while I notice his frown is visible all over his face. I put down the curling iron and walk over behind him.

"What's wrong?" I say leaning down and pulling his face to mine.

"This was your dream. New York." He says softly.

"It still is. I don't understand."

"Lately it's been all about me and I've completely forgotten that we came here for you."

"Finn, we came here for all of us. It would be extremely selfish to say it was all for me."

"But it was. I never thought I would find anything here but you." He says looking up at me.

"Then I'm glad you found something else." I say as I sit back on the bed.

"I don't get it? You didn't want me to be here for you?"

"I wanted you to find your own dream Finn. I can't be your dream. Not forever."

"That's not true. You're all I need Rach."

"Yes, in a partner. But even that isn't enough for the rest of your life. I love you, and as a partner, you are everything I need, but I also have singing and it fulfills me. I'm glad you have that in the band."

"So you don't regret this?" He says looking down at the floor.

"Finn Hudson, why would I regret any of this?"

"Because my dreams keep making a mess of everything."

"Well usually it's my dreams that do that, so it's kind of a nice switch now and then." I giggle.

He stands up and pushes me over on the bed. "That's not funny!" He laughs as he kisses my neck and then stares back into my eyes. "I wouldn't be able to do any of this without you."

"I love you Finn. Band or no band. Now go get ready for your date." I say as I slap his butt and roll out from under him.

"Stop calling it that. It's a guy's night out."

"Nuh uh, last time you called it that, you both ended up with bruises and black eyes. It's a date so be civil to each other."

He groans and rolls off the bed as I leave to check on Kurt.

"Her name is Bianca? What kind of name is that?" Kurt is saying as I walk into the kitchen.

"I don't know, it's just her name. Would you relax? You do realize this isn't a real date right?"

"Kurt, are you ready to go?" I ask him and he turns to face me.

"What kind of name is Bianca?" he asks as I drag him from the kitchen.

"Have fun Blaine" I yell back.

"Not too much fun." Kurt finishes.

We spend the rest of the day in rehearsals with Kurt as my cheerleader. My instructor felt that I made up a lot of ground today with rehearsal so I'm feeling pretty good by the time we finish up for the evening. Kurt and I decide to meet Sam and Noah at "The Perk" for dinner and the first person we see when we enter is Tiffany.

"Rachel, can we talk please?" She says cornering me.

"I can't see why I would want to say anything to you considering it will just end up on the evening news." I say walking away from her.

"I didn't say anything to the news. You have to believe me. Kyle is so angry right now, but it wasn't me."

"Really? I find that hard to believe." I push past her and sit down next to Kurt.

"So you guys met Tiffany." I say to Noah and Sam.

"Yeah a real Einstein that one." Sam laughs.

I look up and see Finn's face on the TV. "Oh no, now what?" I say pointing to the TV. Sam grabs the remote off the counter and turns up the TV.

"_You saw our report a couple of nights ago on the band "One Night Stand". Tales of betrayal, lies, and behind the scenes fighting. The band is apparently fighting back on those rumors and band members Kyle and Finn took to the bowling alley and night clubs to prove us wrong."_

Video of Finn and Kyle entering a night club flash across the screen and the two are shown laughing as they walk past the cameras.

"_The two hung out and shared a few laughs and drinks before a friendly competition of bowling. After they hit the pins, they hit the night clubs, partying way into the night. The two seemed to be in good spirits and on friendly terms. However, there was no sign of the trouble in the middle. Could it be the boys came to a truce and cut the problem girl free?"_

"So now I'm the problem girl." I huff and Sam rubs my shoulder.

"Don't let it get to you."

"Oh look, it's Bianca." Kurt says sarcastically as a photo of Blaine and his date are now on the screen.

"_Also out on the town was lead singer Blaine Anderson. News broke that Blaine may in fact be lying to all of his fans about his sexuality, but last night he hit the town with an unidentified female. The pair had dinner and hung out at a club dancing the night away. Our cameras even caught a few smooches before the night was over."_

"SMOOCHES! He wasn't supposed to be kissing her!" Kurt says angrily.

"I'm sure it's not what you think." I say quietly.

"_Could our source be nothing more than a jealous outsider of the band? Or is this all just a bit of creative damage control?"_

I look over at Tiffany who is also watching the report. She frowns and goes back to pouring coffee when the newscast ends.

"Well sounds like they did their jobs tonight." Noah responds.

"Yeah I'm ever so glad they all whored themselves out for Management group." Kurt mocks.

"Kurt, they don't have a choice right now."

"They could fire them. Management group. They were doing fine before they met them." He responds.

The rest of the evening goes by quickly as we head back to the loft. When we get home Finn is playing video games on the floor.

"Hey you." I say as I sit down on the floor beside him. "Looks like you had a fun evening."

"I'm guessing you saw us on the news. It was crazy out there. It's almost like they knew we were coming."

"Is Blaine home?" Kurt asks.

"Not yet." Finn replies and Kurt storms off to the bed room.

"News reports are claiming Blaine and his date have been kissing. So he's mad."

"Well I swear there was no kissing with Kyle and I tonight babe."

We say goodnight to the gang and head back to bed. "So Kyle and I were talking tonight."

"Imagine that, you were talking to your date." I giggle.

"Yeah whatever! As I was saying, Kyle thinks it's stupid for Management group to keep me from your recital. I have to agree. So I'm going."

"Finn you can't."

"Babe, it's a free country. And I'm going and that's final. I'll just get there early, before anyone else and enter through the back."

"Oh that sounds so sexy." I giggle, rolling over to kiss him. "You sound like a real rock star sneaking around so that you aren't seen."

"Oh yeah, you like that huh?"

"I love my rock star."

"Prove it." He smirks raising his eyebrow. I roll over on top of him intending to prove to him every single way that I love him.

When we wake up in the morning, still tangled together, I don't regret staying up late at all. The sunlight is hitting his cheek and he's smiling in his sleep again. Finn has always been my angel and this morning is no exception. I feel so blessed to have him and this life in New York. Even if things haven't worked out exactly as I thought they would, I have no regrets for the way things are going.

Kurt and I make it to the rehearsal hall by noon; we are surprised by the amount of cameras outside the auditorium.

"Why are there so many people here?" The instructor asks.

"I'm assuming it has to do with the boy's band, because I'm pretty sure they didn't come for our show." I laugh.

"Well maybe we can get them to come in and watch. Good press is hard to come by." He says.

At one we hear a knock on the classroom door. "Hey baby. You really are early." I say as Finn walks in the room.

"Yeah well I don't think anyone saw me come in so it was worth it." He takes off his sunglasses and sits down in the chair at the back of the room. "Mind if I try and sleep a bit?"

"No baby, go ahead. I have to go rehearse anyway." I kiss him on the head and walk back to the auditorium for final rehearsals.

The rest of the gang gets there right before show time and Kurt and I are watching the TV before the show starts as the boys take their seats.

"_Next up, One Night Stand, out on the town."_

"Oh no." I say looking over at the worried look on Kurt's face.

"Do we have time to wait for the report?"

"Yeah I don't go on until halfway through." I reply as I turn up the volume.

When the newscast comes back there is a picture of Kurt and me entering the auditorium.

"WOW they work fast!" I exclaim.

"_And now our report on One night stand's night out on the town. With just one day left until the big Music Fest, the members of One Night Stand were out on the town tonight. _

_Girlfriend of Drummer Finn, was escorted to the concert hall at Brooklyn College by none other than Kurt, the rumored fling of Lead singer Blaine. The two arrived together and smiled for the cameras as they were ushered into the concert hall. We are being told that Rachel is performing there tonight."_

"We look dang good on TV Rachel." Kurt says as we see the video of us entering the concert hall earlier that day.

"It's our first time on TV Kurt!" I giggle. "Even if we are being referred to as rumored flings and trollops."

A picture of Kyle and Blaine shows up on the screen.

"_Band members Blaine and Kyle arrived shortly before the concert began to show their support and stopped by the media tent to answer questions regarding their concert tomorrow night. When asked about Finn's whereabouts, the members quickly ended the interview and made their way into the auditorium."_

A video of Kyle and Blaine comes on the screen.

"_Are you guys excited about your concert tomorrow night?" The person asks._

"_Absolutely. It's going to be amazing. Everyone should come down, tickets are going to be sold that day at the event." Blaine says smiling at the camera._

"_What about Finn? Is he here today? Are you two still fighting."_

_Kyle looks over at Blaine and then into the camera. "The band is great, and if you don't mind we need to be heading into the show now."_

The video goes back to the news anchor.

"They handled that well." I say to Kurt as a picture of Finn dressed in black wearing sunglasses is flashed onto the screen.

"_We were told that drummer Finn Hudson would not be attending the show leading to speculation that a split between the two lovers may have been more than rumors. _

_But our sources were able to capture photos of Finn entering the concert hall from the back exit earlier that evening. He arrived alone and was not noticed by the media."_

"Crap, how do they find all this stuff out? Is Tiffany here tonight?" Kurt asks me.

"Not that I know of."

"_Whatever is going on with this band, they sure have the media hanging on their every move. Definitely a good move on their part right before their first big break. Stay tuned for more coverage tomorrow night when we are live in Central Park for the big show."_

There is a knock on the door and my professor enters.

"Are you ready Rachel? It's time to take your place on stage."

I hug Kurt and he heads to his seat as I prepare for my solo, happy that everyone was able to attend.

"You were amazing!" Finn says grabbing me and lifting me up at the end of the concert.

"Aww babe. Thank you."

"Seriously, that was beautiful." Sam says wiping away a tear.

"Are you crying Sammie?" I giggle as I walk over and hug him.

"No! I just got something in my eye. If you want crying, you should have seen Puck." I turn and look at Noah.

"Hey it was raining on my face in there. That's not my fault. I get emotional!" he laughs and I wrap my arms around his neck.

"Now let's get this party started." Kyle announces.

"What party?" I ask.

"We're taking you to a party in your honor babe. I don't focus on you enough." Finn says grabbing my hand and smiling down at me.

"Really?" I say quietly.

"We'll meet you there. It's best if we split up." Noah says.

"I'll go with Kurt and Rachel. I'm not supposed to be here anyway." Finn says.

"They know you are here. You were on the news." Kurt tells him.

"What? How do they find this crap out?"

"I don't know and I swear I didn't tell Tiffany I was here." Kyle says defensively.

"That doesn't make sense." I say to Finn.

Everyone splits up and Kurt and I run for the taxi. We wait a few minutes and finally Finn joins us and we head off to the party.

The rest of the evening is spent with Finn and I attempting to dance but mostly with me laughing.

"Baby, we don't have to dance."

"No way Rach, I want to. It's your night and I know you like to do this." He yells into my ear.

"Really it's ok." He pulls back and looks at me surprised.

"What? You don't want some of this?" He says pointing down his body as he moves to the music.

"Oh I want all of that." I laugh as I put my arms around him and yank him down to my mouth.

After a few dances we head over to the tables and sit down next to Blaine, Kurt, and Kyle. "Nice moves Hudson." Kyle jokes as he sits down.

"Yeah I've been working on those for a long time." Finn jokes back.

I'm happy to see them on good terms now. Kyle winks at me and I smile slightly.

Blaine has his arm wrapped around the back of Kurt's chair and is whispering into his ear. Kurt leans back laughing.

"Oh my God." He yells.

Everyone looks at him. "What?" Finn yells.

"Oh nothing. Just more stories about Bianca. That girl needs her own TV show." He laughs.

"I though you hated Bianca." I yell.

"You can't hate someone like that. It would be like hating Brit." He chuckles.

We watch Noah and Sam hitting on a few girls on the dance floor and laugh as one of them tosses a drink at Noah's face.

They walk back to the table and Noah grabs the napkins to wipe his face.

"That was awesome." I giggle.

"I'm glad YOU enjoyed it." He responds.

"It was like karma for all those slushies you tossed at people."

"Yeah well Karma is a bitch." He laughs.

We head back to the loft to get some rest so that the boys are ready for their big show tomorrow. I made the rule that no one drink tonight so that none of them would have a hangover tomorrow. I'm sure they will appreciate that tomorrow.

When we get home Sam turns on the TV and squeals. "Oh my God I'm on TV." We all run into the living room and watch the news cast.

"_Next up, One Night Stand parties like they're rock stars."_

"How do these people know EVERYTHING about us?" Blaine says shocked.

"_We told you about the story we are working on for 11 tonight regarding the band One Night Stand attending a concert for the rumored girl who stands between band mates Finn and Kyle. We have breaking news regarding the festivities for this evening._

_After the concert ended, band members Blaine and Kyle were seen leaving in a van with two undisclosed males. Shortly after Kurt and Rachel were seen leaving and getting into a taxi. Right behind them was Finn Hudson, who got in the cab seconds before it left."_

A video of Noah, Sam, Blaine, and Kyle is shown as they leave the concert.

"That's us. Oh my God, I'm famous." Noah yells.

A new video of Kurt and I getting in to the cab is shown and then Finn running out and getting in.

"_The groups met up at popular hotspot for bands that are playing at the Music fest this week where they are said to still be partying the night away. _

_Our source inside the scene says that Finn and Rachel appear to be cozy, spending most of the evening dancing together and talking with the two males who entered with them."_

A video of us arriving at the club is shown from far away.

"God my butt looks big in these pants. Why didn't anyone tell me?" Kurt says looking down at his pants.

"_Blaine was spotted chatting it up with guitarist Kyle and stage hand Kurt for most of the evening. Our source has stated that on more than one occasion it has appeared that Kurt and Blaine may have been holding hands._

_No word yet on any interaction between Kyle and Rachel, however our source has stated that Kyle has kept a close watch on the girl throughout the evening._

_Let's hope the band gets home safely to prepare for their concert tomorrow evening. It seems most of New York will be watching."_

"Wow. This is insane." Finn breathes out as he sits down on the couch.

"They know our every move." I say quietly.

"It can't be Tiffany. You guys realize that right?" Kurt announces to the room. "She wasn't even there tonight."

"It doesn't mean it's not her." Finn answers.

"It had to be someone in that room guys." Blaine says looking over at me confused.

"Well if it's not Tiffany, who is it?"


	33. Chapter 33

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 33**

**Blaine POV**

"Where are Finn and Rachel?" I ask Sam as I enter the game room. Today is the day of the music fest. It's been an emotional week for everyone and I'm actually just happy to be getting this damn thing over with.

"I have no idea. They were gone when I got up."

"What time are you heading out?" Puck asks sitting up from the couch.

"In about an hour. You coming along?" I ask and his mouth drops.

"Seriously? Like I can help you guys set up and stuff?"

"Yeah, we can always use the help and with Kurt and Rachel being kept out of the spotlight, they can't do it."

"Awesome!" He says high fiving Sam.

"Found Finchel." Kurt exclaims from the living room.

When I walk in I see video of Finn and Rachel walking around downtown.

_Breakfast of Rock Stars?_

_Tonight is the big show for the band "One Night Stand." All week we have been bringing you the information on the scandal that is rocking the headlining band of this year's Central Park Music Fest. We broke the story after a source inside the band told us of a tale of betrayal and lies._

_One couple said to be on the rocks is drummer Finn Hudson and his girlfriend Rachel who was rumored to have had her own one night stand with guitarist Kyle spurring on a late night boxing match between the two band members. This morning it seems that the clear winner is Finn as he snuck off to breakfast with his girlfriend before leaving for the festival._

_The two entered together early this morning from the back of the restaurant but dined outside and held friendly conversation throughout the meal. No word from our source if this means the end of her affair with Kyle._

_Stay tuned for more information and follow us all night for updates from the Central Park Music Festival, leading up to the performance of "One Night Stand."_

"Bob is going to kill them."

"Yeah well, sometimes you just gotta eat breakfast." Kurt says shrugging his shoulders.

"I don't understand how all of a sudden Rachel was having an affair. Do these people validate their sources?" I say angrily.

"You gotta stop letting this get to you." Kurt replies.

"Yeah well it's not your sexuality being tossed all over the 11 o'clock news."

"Funny because I didn't think you cared about that." He says standing up and walking back to the bedroom.

"Kurt." I yell after him but am only greeted with the slam of a door.

"Good morning!" Finn shouts as he walks through the front door.

"Good morning to you too! I hope you enjoyed your breakfast! It was all over the news." I say to him as I march into the kitchen.

"Woah, what's your problem?" Finn says walking in behind me.

"You were supposed to stay away from her. Bob doesn't want you near her and instead you've been on TV with her twice now in two days. He's going to freaking fire us. Did you think of that?"

"Maybe I don't care anymore. Maybe I'm tired of being told that I can't go out to breakfast with my own girlfriend. It's not supposed to be like this Blaine." He yells.

"Yeah well it is and you are just going to have to learn how to deal with it."

"Like you are? Hiding who you are from everyone including my brother who happens to love you more than anything." He turns and starts to leave the kitchen.

"What if people were saying you were gay? Then would you feel differently?" I shout.

"I don't know ok. But what I do know is when I love someone, if I'm proud of who I am and who I'm with, I'm not letting anything keep me from screaming it from the damn rooftops." He turns quickly and walks out of the room leaving me to think about everything.

It's not that I'm not proud. I just don't want to destroy the bands big chance. But I don't want to lose Kurt either. Maybe Finn has a point. I fought so hard to get out of the closet despite my parents. I can't just run back in and hide now.

An hour later the guys are all gathering in front of the loft. Kyle has arrived with some of the instruments and the van service from the management group shows up to take us to the festival. When we get there everything is already in full swing and the opening bands have started performing. A small crowd has formed in front of the stage and we quickly head behind the tent to set up some of the gear.

I can feel the news cameras behind me filming our every move. The attention is insane. I'm not even sure how we got to this point. Maybe all the scandal is good for us.

"Are you deaf boy?"

I turn and see Bob standing in front of Finn. He's much shorter than him but he's trying to seem intimidating.

"She's my girlfriend." Finn replies.

"I told you no press with her. And yet I turn on my TV and what do I see?"

"She's been working hard for that recital. I had to be there."

"You're lucky I don't fire you right now. Do you know how many drummers there are in this town?"

"You can't just replace me in my own band." Finn yells.

I quickly walk over. "What is going on?"

"And you!" He turns to face me. "Did you really think it was a good idea to take your boy toy out for a stroll when you know the press is watching you? Holding hands in a club with another man is going to get you noticed."

"Kurt is my boyfriend."

"Not on my dime he's not." He shouts. "You boys need to start learning who is boss or I'll replace you both."

"You don't own our band."

"No but I manage you, and I know what's best. If you can't listen to me, I'll find someone else who will." He turns and walks out of the tent.

"What the hell was that about?" We turn to see Kyle standing behind us.

"I'm sick of his crap." Finn says tossing his cup across the tent.

"Let's just get through the show." I say quietly.

"Hey guys." I hear Kurt say from behind me. I turn and smile at him but he doesn't return the gesture.

"You guys are already on the news." Puck yells from the other side of the tent. We join him at the televisions and see the news cast regarding our arrivals.

"Damn I look hot!" Puck announces as they flash a video of the group getting out of the van.

_The boys are back! That's right; the boys from "One Night Stand" have arrived at the Central Park Music Festival for tonight's headlining show. The band arrived around 5pm with friends and began setting up their equipment behind the main stage. The band is set to go on at 8pm._

_Everyone seemed in good spirits as the boys goofed around back stage, tossing a football, and making jokes. _

"It's crazy the amount of press we are getting for just tossing a football." Finn jokes.

A video of Rachel and Kurt starts to roll on screen.

_The supporting case arrived about an hour later. Finn's girlfriend arrived with well known band regular Kurt. Controversy surrounding the relationship status of both Rachel and Kurt to the band has been growing for weeks now. Sources inside the band's support group have spoken to us about an imminent break up of the band on the horizon due to these relationships. _

"I'm sick of this break up crap." Kyle grunts.

"Where are they getting that from? None of us have talked about splitting up." Finn remarks.

A video of Tiffany appears on the screen.

_Also arriving to show some support for the band is lead guitarist Kyle's ex-girlfriend Tiffany. Rumor has it there is bad blood between Tiffany and Rachel but no words have been exchanged so far this evening. _

_Tiffany arrived with an unidentified female and spoke only with her ex before heading to the stage area to watch the opening bands._

"Well I'll be damned?" Kurt says from the back of the tent. Everyone turns to look at him.

"What?" Rachel asks.

"That girl with Tiffany. I know her." Kurt says folding his arms.

"Who Renee? That's Tiffany's best friend." Kyle replies.

"She goes to Julliard. She's the girl that hates me." He says to Rachel.

_We will talk with the band right before they take the stage and update as the evening progresses._

The news cast ends and I walk over to Kurt and Rachel. "Renee and Tiffany. That's a pretty big coincidence don't you think?"

"I don't know. I mean we can't go around accusing everyone of being a media whore trollop." He laughs.

"Yeah but have you talked about the band at school at all?" Rachel asks him.

"Only to Max."

"Ok, and I don't think Max would do this, but when you talked about it, were you alone?" I ask him.

"Not always. Sometimes we would talk about stuff while eating in the cafeteria. But who would be interested in that?"

"Someone like Renee might. How much you want to bet Tiffany talks to her too." Finn says walking up behind us.

"This is crazy. Why would anyone want to do this?" He says sitting down at the table.

"People aren't always nice Kurt. They like to take advantage of any situation that suits them." Rachel says sitting down beside him and taking his hand.

"I'm so sorry guys." He says quietly.

I sit down beside him and put my arm around him. "Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong. This isn't your fault."

"One night stand?" We hear a voice call out behind us.

I see the news channel anchor who has been giving us such a hard time standing with her camera man. We are supposed to have an interview before the show stops.

We settle in to our seats on the couch and microphones are shoved into our hands as the lady introduces herself as Nancy and begins the interview.

"In 5, 4, 3….." The camera man begins rolling and Nancy looks at us.

"We are just minutes away from One Night Stand taking the stage. Right now I am backstage with the members of the band, Finn, Blaine and Kyle.Boys how excited are you?" She asks.

_"_This is crazy. HI MOM!" Finn says waving at the camera and I laugh loudly.

_"_We are really ready to take on this challenge and excited to be able to play for so many fans at once." I say trying to sound professional

"There has been a lot of controversy in the last week regarding your band. Just to clear up the rumors, is it true that you are splitting up?" Nancy asks and I look over at Kyle and Finn

_"_Absolutely false. There is no truth to that at all." Kyle states and I nod my head.

_"_Exactly. We've never even discussed that option." Finn agrees.

"But it's true that you were both involved in a fight the other night?" Nancy asks Finn.

_"_We're guys and sometimes disagreements happen, but there are no hard feelings between us." He replies as he pats Kyle on the back.

_"_Yeah I got nothing to hold against Finn. He's my bud." Kyle says smiling over at Finn.

"So you aren't fighting over a girl?"

"I'm not sure where this stuff comes from. Honestly, Finn has a great girl and NO for the record I am not trying to steal her." Kyle jokes.

"So the rumors of a one night stand?" Nancy says seriously.

_"_100% fabrication. Like I said, I have no idea where you got your information but the source is wrong." Kyle says shrugging.

_"_Rachel and I have been together since the tenth grade almost. She's too busy focusing on her own career and her Broadway aspirations to worry about anything else." Finn says smiling over at Rachel who is watching from the background.

Nancy turns to face me and I swallow hard knowing what is coming. "Now that we have cleared that up, how about you Blaine? You have had your own controversy. Any truth to your rumors?"

_I look up and see Kurt staring intently at me and behind him is Bob who is grimacing. __"_Honestly, I think that too much has been said recently and our personal lives keep getting dragged through the mud based on this anonymous source. I think for now I would just prefer to leave my personal life off the table."

Nancy smiles softly and then back at the camera. "Ok you heard it here first. Five more minutes and the band is set to take the stage. Stay with us for complete coverage of the nights events."

"That's a wrap." The camera man says putting down the camera.

"Nice talking to you boys. Good luck." Nancy says walking away.

"You could have denied it!" Bob says angrily. "I told you to spin that story."

I shrug him off and look over at Finn and Kyle. "Let's do this show. Our way." I put up my fist and the boys both fist bump it as we hear our names announced.

I take a deep breath and climb the stairs to the stage. The place is packed. I can't believe how many people have shown up.

We start our set and the place goes crazy. People are screaming and dancing in front of us and having a great time. I look out and see Kurt and Rachel dancing together and smiling at me. During one of the songs I watch Finn playing with such passion and Kyle is really getting in to the crowd and I just can't stand it anymore. I'm holding back because I'm afraid to be who I am. The two of them have been involved with fighting and arguing and scandal just as much as I have but one thing has remained for them both. They were themselves. Even when it wasn't what they were supposed to do, they stayed true to themselves.

I look over and see Finn staring at me oddly and I realize I haven't been singing for about 3 bars now. He gestures at me to sing but nothing comes out. I look out at the crowd and they haven't actually noticed yet.

"Stop." I say into the microphone.

I walk over to Finn. "Stop playing." Suddenly the music stops and the crowd quiets with a few people yelling out over the crowd for us to sing.

"I'm sorry. There's something I need to say." I look over at Kurt and he is staring with his mouth open.

"There have been a lot of things said about us in the media lately. Some stuff that our managers don't want to get out. But I can't stand up here and lie to you anymore. I'm happy that you came out here tonight to listen to us. We truly appreciate that. But if we can't be ourselves, if you like us for something that we aren't, then there isn't really a point to any of this."

I look over at Finn and he smiles at me. I feel a hand on my shoulder and look over to see Kyle standing beside me.

"A few years ago my family told me that I would never make anything of myself because of who I am. They told me that I needed to be someone else. But I only know how to be me. So that's who I'm going to be. My name is Blaine Anderson, I'm the singer of One Night Stand. I'm lucky to have two of my best friends with me up here, Kyle and Finn. And we have wonderful support. Finn's girlfriend Rachel comes to every show to support us even though she's busting her butt to make her own dreams come true. And I wouldn't be able to stand up here today if it wasn't for my boyfriend Kurt." I look over and Kurt smiles up at me. "Yeah, that guy down there is my boyfriend. And I'm proud of that."

Suddenly the crowd's cheers start to louden. I see a few people walk away confused. "Well, yeah so we are going to sing again. I hope you hang around for the rest of the show, cuz it's gonna be pretty kick ass." I laugh as Finn bangs out the beat to the rest of the song and I continue the show until the crowd is in a frenzy.

When the show ends after our second encore we make our way off the stage. Finn stops me and puts his hand out. I grab it. "Proud of you man."

"Thanks Finn. I'm sorry if this is going to screw stuff up for the band." I look over and see Bob making his way to the stairs.

"Dude, did you see the crowd out there? Fuck Bob." Kyle shouts.

"Are you out of your mind?" Bob says as he approaches us.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but I couldn't lie anymore." I say.

"I'll find another singer who will."

"No you won't." Finn says walking down the stairs and staring down at Bob. "But we are going to find a new manager. You're fired."

I step back and Kyle puts his hand on my back. "Agreed." He says beside me. "We don't need you. We can do this on our own."

"You guys are naïve if you think you are going to carry this over on your own." Bob spits.

I look over at Finn and Kyle and Finn winks at me.

"Yeah it's not the first time I've been called naïve. People said I would never make it in New York either. Seems I'm really good at exceeding people's expectations of me." Finn laughs.

"You'll be over before you even began." Bob says walking away.

"Yeah but at least I can live with myself." I shout.

When it's just the three of us I look over at them. "Are you guys sure about this?"

"I hope so; we did just fire the guy." Finn jokes.

"But this was our big break. What if we don't get another one?"

Finn's grin widens as he speaks. "You can't always get what you want man."


	34. Chapter 34

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 34**

_**Finn POV**_

"_Nancy for NBC News bringing you live coverage of the Central Park Music Fest. _

_One Night Stand just left the stage and it was definitely memorable. The band took the stage a little after 8pm amidst a flurry of drama, scandal, and lies. Part way through the concert, lead singer Blaine Anderson stopped the music to announce that he was in fact gay. The audience was stunned by the turn of events but the band was able to turn it around and complete the show to a more than eager and supportive audience._

_From our viewpoint and murmurs backstage, the band fired it's manager immediately upon leaving the stage. We can only speculate on the reason, but it appears there was a disagreement regarding the information being released this week regarding the band._

_After tonight's show, I think they may have a fan following who's respect they have earned. All in all it was a great event and we look forward to what tomorrow brings for this little band that could."_

The repeat of the previous night's newscast is playing on the television at the bar as we sit at the airport waiting for Sam and Puck to leave for their flight back to L.A. I can't believe the events of last night. I don't regret any of it. Frankly I'm proud of Blaine and what he did. And I was happy to see Bob go. I was tired of being told when I could see Rachel. I spent too much time in the past away from her to have someone tell me when it was ok to be around her. I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Puck leaning over to me.

"Dude, I'm serious. Once you guys get back to writing and performing let us know. I'm freaking willing to carry your drum sticks, I'll plug in your instruments at each show, fuck, I'll play the tambourine I just want to be involved in this."

"You serious Puck? You'd have to move from L.A where the chick's clothes fall off. You realize that right?"

"I'm dead serious."

"What about you?" I say looking over at Sam.

"UCLA isn't the only school in town. " He says grinning at Puck.

"Well if you guys are serious, I'll definitely let you know. We could use another guitar player or keyboards or something."

"Oh God that would be so sweet." Puck shouts.

"Ok, it looks like you guys are at gate 5A." Rachel says as she approaches us.

Sam leans down and lifts Rachel off the ground. "I'm going to miss you peanut."

"Me too. I loved having you guys here."

"Well if your boy gets his act together we will be back before you know it." Puck says as he hugs Rachel. Rachel looks over at me confused.

"Um ok." She says pursing her lips.

"Alright you two. We are out of here. Call me soon Finn. I'm fucking serious." Pucks says as he grabs his bag and heads to security.

I grab Rachel's hand and walk toward the elevators. "What was that about?" she asks.

"They want in the band."

"Seriously? What do you think?"

"I think it would be cool. They were awesome while they were here. And if we are going to get serious and start writing more of our own stuff, we are going to need more than just the three of us. Sam plays guitar and piano, Puck's boss at guitar. It could work."

"And they'd just leave L.A?"

"That's what they said." I laugh.

"Wow." She says for the third time as we get into the car.

"Yeah you already said that."

She looks down at her buzzing phone. "Kurt says to meet him for breakfast now."

"Demanding isn't he?"

We drive to the café and I see Blaine and Kurt sitting out on the patio. We park the car and greet them.

"Plane leave ok?" Kurt asks as I sit down.

"Yep. They should be in the air now."

Kurt and Rachel start talking wildly about some show and I lean over to Blaine. "Hey, you know Puck had a pretty good idea I want to run by you."

"Yeah what's that?"

"Him and Sam are interested in moving here and helping out with the band."

"We don't even have a manager anymore." He frowns.

"Who needs one?" I laugh. "We got pretty far without one before."

"So what exactly are they offering?"

"Pretty much whatever we need. Did you know Sam plays piano?"

"Really? We could use a keyboard player. What about bass? Puckerman play that?" He remarks with a grin.

"Puck's pretty good with a guitar, I imagine bass isn't too far out of his range."

"And they don't mind moving from the clothes-dropping-chick-land?" He says taking a drink from his coffee cup.

"That's what they say."

"Sounds worthy of consideration if you ask me. Long as they don't mind working for free."

"Awesome. We can bring it up to Kyle at the next band meeting."

"Crap, Finn we are going to be late for school if we don't hurry up." Rachel yells looking at her watch.

I look down and see it's already past 9 and my first class is at 9:45. "Sorry guys, it's been real, but we gotta run."

When we get to school I kiss Rachel quickly and we head off in separate directions for our classes. When I enter the music hall my instructor stops me.

"Finn, I saw you on TV last night."

I groan loudly. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why because of the scandal? Don't be. You guys handled yourselves beautifully. I was really proud at how you stood up for yourselves. A lot of bands don't learn that until it's too late."

"Well, it hurts in the fact we don't have a manager anymore, but we'll get back there."

"I'm sure you will. In the meantime, I thought you might be interested in something."

"Oh?" I ask unsure of where this is leading.

"We had an opening in our student teaching program. It's part of your regular course work but instead of coming to class, you would go to a school and teach a class."

I don't know why but this thought scares the crap out of me. How can he think I'd be ready for a real classroom?

"Um, like just me in a room with kids?" I gulp.

"Well not really, the actual teacher would be there too. But you would run the lesson."

"Oh, well I guess that does sound interesting as long as I wasn't alone and stuff. Do you really think I'm ready for that?"

"Absolutely. You are one of my brightest students. I think you have real potential Finn."

"Alright, sure. Might as well start somewhere I guess."

I can't wait to tell Rachel the news but I won't see her till after noon at lunch when we meet up at Central Park. I sneak my phone out of my bag and hide it by my leg to send her a text.

'_Have gr8t news. See you at lunch. 3 F'_

I push the phone under my leg and a few minutes later I feel it vibrate against my thigh.

'_Me 2. Can't wait to C U. R'_

When I get to the Park for lunch, I quickly find our spot by the tree and see that Rachel hasn't gotten there yet. I set out the blanket and get our lunch out. I feel two hands behind me and warm breath on my neck.

"Hey, you should know my girlfriend is pretty feisty."

"Oh yeah. I'm not afraid of her." I hear her giggle.

"You should be." I say grabbing her by the arm and pulling her into my lap. I lean down and quickly kiss her and I feel her wrap her arms around my neck.

"Hi." I say after we break apart.

"Hi to you too." She giggles.

She sits up and kneels beside me, reaching in to the bag to grab her food. When she sits down I can't hold it in any longer.

"I have something to tell you." We both say at the same time.

"Oh, you first." She says.

"No you." I insist.

"No, you go first so that I'll know if my news is boring or not." She laughs.

"Ok. My instructor asked me if I wanted to do student teaching. Like with a real class of kids Rach."

"Oh my God Finn that's amazing. What did you say?"

"Well at first I got sick to my stomach thinking about a room full of kids staring at me and throwing spit balls at me, but then I realized I would be the teacher and could totally punish them for stuff like that, so I told him I would do it." I grin and she knocks me over onto the blanket as she covers my face and neck with kisses.

"I'm so proud of you Finn. Oh my God little kids are going to call you Mr. Hudson. That's so adorable." She grins.

I think about it and it sound kinda weird, the only Mr. Hudson I knew was my grand dad and he was old. I never even knew my own father by that so I guess it's going to take some getting used to.

When I feel Rachel's tongue graze my neck I pull her back off me. "Hey what was your news?"

She sits back on her feet. "I'm not sure mine is as exciting."

"I'm sure any news you have is exciting Rach."

She shrugs. "There's this play. It's not like a huge deal, but a lot of the kids from Julliard try out for it. Kurt is trying out for it and I'm going to go with him. Maybe It could be my big chance to get recognized by Julliard. Cuz a lot of the staff goes to the production to watch their students."

"That's awesome news Rach." I say kissing her cheek.

"I guess. I mean it's not like I got a role or anything yet. But yeah." She says smiling but I can tell it's not her normal smile.

"Are you ok babe?"

"What? Yeah why?" She says trying to sound convincing.

"Yeah that was fake. You can act but you can't get that mediocre crap past me."

"It's nothing really."

I touch her cheek with my thumb and bring it down to her chin raising her face so that her eyes meet mine.

"That's not nothing." I say pointing to the tear forming at the corner of her eye.

"I just want to be something special again." She says quietly. I know how hard this move has been for Rachel. Being in Glee always made her feel special. She always felt like having the Glee club, being a part of it made her something more than she already was.

"Rach, you are special."

"Not like I was when I had Glee. It made me special."

"You're wrong." I say looking into her eyes. "You made Glee club special. You made me special. We would have been nothing without you. I would be nothing without you."

She smiles but then looks back down at the ground. "I think you do just fine without me."

"Are you crazy? Like have you lost your mind?" I laugh. "Do you realize how lost I would feel if I didn't have you here?"

"That's not true."

"Rach, me without you just doesn't work for me. Don't you ever forget that. There would be no New York for me if you weren't here. Don't you remember when we were here our Junior year? I told you that you were my New York. You still are babe."

She grins and this time I can see the stars in her eyes that I am used to seeing. She leans up and kisses my cheek. "I love you Finn Hudson."

"And I love you Ms. Rachel Berry."

I lay back on the blanket pulling her down with me. She snuggles up against my chest as I look up at the blue sky. I know Rachel has a hard time because things haven't gone her way as quickly as she would like them too. And I'm pretty sure that the success of One Night Stand hasn't helped. While I know she is proud and happy for me, it is a reminder of what she hasn't accomplished.

But what Rachel doesn't realize is that without her support, I would never have been able to do any of it. If she wasn't there pushing me every day I would have quit a long time ago. Rachel made me strong, she believed in me when no one else did. And that is what makes her special.

We spend the rest of the day watching the clouds stroll by, pointing out all the animals we could find in them until she found one in the shape of a star and decided that we could officially go home now.

As we enter the loft, Kurt has the television playing and the news comes on.

_Last night if you watched our broadcast, you saw an epic moment on stage with lead singer of the band "One Night Stand" confirming that he is in fact gay. Also reported, the band fired their manager as they left the stage._

_Today is the morning after, and it doesn't seem to have affected our group at all. Today Finn and his girlfriend were joined by Blaine and his boyfriend for breakfast and coffee. They chatted for about an hour, making jokes and laughing. _

_Later in the day Finn was spotted walking through Central Park with Rachel. A common spot for these two. Now that she has been confirmed as the girl who stole Finn's heart, we ask the question; just who is Rachel Berry? Next week, we delve deeper into that question. Stay tuned for that report._

"Ok that's still weird that they know our every move." I say as I see the video of Rachel and I walking through the park a few hours ago.

I look over and Rachel has a look of horror on her face. "What?" I ask her.

"Why do they want to know who I am?"

"Because you are freaking amazing." I laugh.

She turns and runs to the bedroom, slamming the door.

"What the hell did I say?" I ask Kurt.

He shrugs and I quickly head back to the bedroom. I open the door and she is lying on the bed crying.

"Rach, baby what's wrong?" I ask scooping her up into my arms.

"I don't want them talking about me. They can't. Make it stop." She wails.

"Rach, it's ok. They don't have anything bad on you."

"I know that. They don't have anything on me. Because there is nothing to tell. I'm ordinary and boring and not interesting enough to be your girlfriend." She sobs.

"Hey, woah." I say stroking her hair. "What did I tell you earlier?"

"No Finn. I'm not special. I came to New York a girl with hopes and dreams and now I'm just an ordinary girl doing ordinary things."

"Rach. Stop. First off I don't care what anyone thinks. Second, I think you are the most amazing person I know. You could star in a million Broadway shows and I would still love you the same as I do right now. What I care about is how you make me feel here. "I grab her hand and hold it over my heart.

"This is where it all matters. And in here, you make me feel things that NO ONE has ever brought out in me before."

She grins and looks down at our hands. "At least you know which side your heart is on now." She giggles.

I remember that day in the auditorium. The first time I was ever honest with someone about how I felt. The first time I opened up to someone about how they made me feel. Sure I screwed it up when I ended up feeling too much too fast and had to run out of there before I embarrassed myself, but I always look back on that day as the day my life changed.

I look down at the girl in my arms. The girl who still holds my heart in her hands and I smile. "You know, you can kiss me if you want to." I smirk.

She looks up at me surprised as a smile spreads across her face and I feel her hands move into my hair and slide against the back of my neck. As her lips graze mine she whispers, "I want to."


	35. Chapter 35

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 35**

**Kurt POV**

"Rachel, are you ready yet?" I yell back to the bedroom. "RACHEL!"

"What are you yelling for?" She says walking in the room and pulling her hair back into a pony tail.

"Are you ready? We are going to be late."

"I'm ready. Relax!" She laughs.

"When will you guys be back?" Finn walks into the kitchen, his hair is a mess and he seems to think running his fingers through it works just as well as a comb.

"I don't know baby. It could be a few hours." She leans up and kisses him on the cheek.

"Ok, I'll just be standing in front of a bunch of kids who will probably hate me." He frowns.

"Wow, 9-1-1 we've got drama!" I laugh.

"Kurt!" Rachel scolds me before turning back to Finn. "Finn, it's going to be fine. They are going to love you, because you are amazing and wonderful and the sweetest guy I know!"

"Yeah but that's just because you think I'm hot."

She turns to leave but stops and swats him on the behind. "I'd say." She giggles.

"Women." I joke. "I guess someone has to date them."

I catch up with Rachel in the stair well as we make our way to the street. We are going to attempt to audition for a few off Broadway shows today. There are a bunch of students trying out from Julliard and I didn't want to go on my own.

"Is Max coming?" Rachel asks as we climb into the cab.

"She's meeting us down there. She's coming for moral support."

"She's not auditioning?"

"She says it's not her thing."

We climb out and see the line of people around the theater waiting to audition. "Crap Kurt look at the line."

We jump out and pay our cab and stand in the back of the line. "I don't see Max." I say looking around.

It doesn't take long for me to see someone I don't want to see though. "Don't look now Rach. Bitchfest at 11:00." I whisper.

"What? Are they calling me that on the news tonight? I'm really getting…."

"NO! Look at 11:00." I interrupt.

"But it's only 10:25 Kurt." Rachel says looking at her watch.

"OH MY GOD RACHEL! Look in front of you and to the left." I say pushing her forward.

"OH that kind of bitch fest." She says quietly as she notices the two girls standing a few people away from us.

"We should say hi." I joke.

"Good idea." She says walking away from me.

"Wait, I was kidding…." I say but it's too late as she is already approaching Tiffany.

"Well if it isn't Barbie and her sidekick Skipper!" Rachel is saying as I walk up.

"You must be Rachel. I haven't had the pleasure." Renee says holding her hand out.

Rachel looks down at her hand and then back up at Tiffany. "I'm surprised you have time to come out of your house with all the time you spend talking to reporters."

"Someone is bitter that her boyfriend isn't mister famous now that he got fired." Renee mocks.

"Looks like your source is being lazy. They did the firing, not the other way around." Rachel spits back returning her attention back to Tiffany.

"How's Kyle Rachel?" Tiffany smirks.

"Kyle is great now that he's infection free."

Ok this is going to get ugly. "What did you say to me?" Tiffany counters getting into Rachel's face.

"Ok ladies. I think it's time we cut this party short." I grab Rachel by the back of the shirt and pull her back toward the end of the line. "Let's not cause a scene. We don't need to end up on the news today."

"Fine! But I'm not in the mood to audition for this stupid play anyway." She says crossing her arms and pouting.

"What's wrong with this play?"

"It's boring. I need something fun. I don't want to be Finn's boring girlfriend anymore."

"Who says you are boring?" I hear Max ask from behind us.

"Where have you been?" I say turning to face her.

"Checking out the fun places. Why are we here anyway? Rachel is right this place is Booooring."

"Well this is the only gig in town, so that's why we are here." I answer.

"Wrong. I have something you just might enjoy and it's right around the corner." She says pointing behind the building.

"Oh really?" Rachel asks enthusiastically.

"Definitely not the snoozefest this place is selling."

"Come on Kurt, let's check it out." Rachel pleads. She drags me off after Max toward the back alley. This doesn't seem like somewhere I want to go to audition. We turn the corner and face a small building in red brick.

"You're kidding right?" I say looking up at the sign.

"It's awesome right?" Max says staring in awe.

"It's perfect." Rachel beams.

"WHAT? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" I ask shocked.

"Come on Kurt. Live a little." She squeals.

"But this makes no sense. You hated prom. You thought it was hokey when you won prom queen."

"But this isn't really prom. And it could be sooo fun Kurt. Please?"

I groan but follow her into the entryway. There is a man sitting at a desk. "Can I help you?"

"Yeah we would like to audition." I say uncertainly.

"Sure. All of you?" He questions.

"Yes." I answer quickly as Max turns on me.

"What?" She whispers.

"Hey, you got me into this, you gotta do it to."

An hour later we are walking out the door. "Can you believe we all got something?" Rachel is beaming.

"They are small parts Rachel. And I'm shocked at you. Just shocked."

"Come on Kurt. Live a little! This is going to be a blast. I get to be something I'm so not." She laughs holding up her costume.

"You could say that again." I joke.

"Well you sure went all out too Kurt." She laughs. I look down at the nerdy glasses in my hand. What have I gotten myself into?

We return to an empty loft as both Finn and Blaine are at school until the evening today. We sit down to watch the video we were giving by the show when the news comes on.

_A big story we are working on this week:_

_Just who are Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry?_

_These two have been linked to two of the members of the upstart band "One Night Stand" who last week headlined the Central Park Music Fest and earned the respect of the crowd there with their moving and electric performance._

_Things have slowed down for the band since firing their manager. But with three adorable guys running the show the biggest questions sent in to the station this week are just who are the two biggest supporting characters behind this band._

_We spent the last week following the movements of Kurt Hummel and Rachel Berry, the significant others of lead singer Blaine Anderson and drummer Finn Hudson. The two seem very close and spent a lot of time together. We ran in to them going to and from school and back and forth from a few auditions. Both are heavily involved in the arts programs. _

I'm amazed at the pictures flashing up on the screen of Rachel and me. I had no idea we were being followed this week. Maybe once or twice I saw a camera but I guess I never really thought they were for us.

_But just who are they and how exactly did they snag two of the hottest bachelors on the local band scene? And just how serious are these relationships? Or are these two simply riding the coattails of their more famous partners? _

Rachel and I both laugh. "Who are these people and where do they get their information?" I joke with her.

_We were surprised to find that these two hail from Ohio. And that they grew up together, attending the same high school as drummer Finn Hudson where they were involved in their high school Glee club. This same Glee club who won Nationals here in New York their Junior year. The trio along with Blaine came to New York with hopes and dreams in the big city. _

_But it seems so far that big dreams have not been found for Kurt or Rachel since stepping foot in the big apple. Leaving us to wonder just how long their relationships will last once "One Night Stand" takes off again, leaving them behind to once again look for their own destinies._

"Wow. That was horse crap." Max announces when the story ends.

"Yeah, we'll show them, won't we Rach." I look over and she's staring at the Television. "Rach?"

"Oh sorry, what?" She says quietly.

"I said, we'll show them."

"Oh yeah we sure will." She says as she gets up and heads back to the bedroom.

"What was that about?" Max asks.

"I dunno. I'll be right back." I say heading in the direction that Rachel left.

I knock on her door and walk into the room. She's standing by the bedroom window looking down on the city street.

"Hey, you ok?" I ask.

"Do you think I'm a failure if I don't go to Julliard?" She says without looking up.

"What? No. Why would you think that?"

"Kurt, that's been my dream since I could remember. If I never get there, if it doesn't happen, what does that mean?"

I walk over beside her and sit down at the desk. "It will have meant that you found better dreams. Rach, just because you don't go to Julliard now doesn't mean you never will. And even if you don't, you aren't less of a singer because of it."

She smiles. "Do you think it was stupid to try out for that show today?"

I laugh. "Too late now don't you think?"

"It's not the army Kurt. You can quit." She jokes.

"No way. I'm looking forward to it."

"You are? So it's not stupid?"

"Rachel, I think it's the craziest thing you have ever done. And I think maybe that's a good thing. You and me, we've always done the safe, responsible thing. Let's be bold. Let's be insane. Just for a little while."

"It does sound fun doesn't it?" She giggles.

"What sounds fun?" I jump as Finn enters the room.

"Oh. Well Kurt and I got parts in this show. It's not Broadway, but it's off Broadway."

"I don't get it. What's off Broadway? You mean like Main St." Finn says confused.

"Oh dear brother, don't worry that pretty little head of yours. All that matters is that we got bit parts in a show today that is going to be a ton of fun."

"Cool. What kind of show? Some musical thing?"

"You could say that." I laugh. "You may want to ask to see her costume first."

"Huh?" Finn says looking between Rachel and me.

Rachel turns toward the bed and pulls her costume from the bag. Finn's mouth drops open and he reaches back for the chair and sits down.

"I think he likes it." I laugh.

"Finn! I thought you said you liked what I wore in high school." Rachel says angrily.

"Uh I did, I love Rachel Berry and her cool sweaters and stuff. But uh, I'm not gonna lie. I always used to imagine you dressed in one of those when I was all alone in my bed at night."

"OK GROSS!" I shout.

Rachel giggles and sits on Finn's lap. "Maybe I'll give you a dress rehearsal tonight."

"Oh God!" I say turning to leave the room.

"Wait, what is this show anyway?" Finn asks.

"Um, well it's called the Awesome 80's Prom." Rachel says shyly.

"Huh? It's a prom? I don't get it."

"It's just this silly show where people get dressed up and go to an 80's prom and vote for the king and queen. We get to interact with the audience and sing and dance."

"Wait. Like you aren't going to go on dates and stuff right?" Finn says staring at Rachel.

"Well not exactly. But we will dance with the audience and stuff."

"Like with other dudes?" Finn says loudly.

"Finn, it's just a show. Think of it as a job. Like you do when all those girls flirt with you when you are on stage."

I laugh loudly at Finn's disapproval on his face.

"But you get all mad when they flirt with me." He pouts.

"Well, then I will understand what you are feeling won't I?" She says standing up.

"Sure." He says rolling his eyes.

"Is this a party?" Blaine says peeking his head in the door.

"Yeah it's a party where Kurt and Rachel take other people to prom every weekend and we have to just be happy about it." Finn says walking over to the dresser.

"Rachel and I got parts in the Awesome 80's Prom." I say to Blaine.

"Sweet! I've heard about that show from some guys at work. They say it's pretty good. Of course all they ever talk about are the hot cheerleaders they have in that show." Blaine laughs. I look over at Finn who almost has steam coming out of his ears.

"Great, just great!" He says walking out of the room.

"Uh what did I say?" He says confused.

Rachel holds up her costume.

"Ohhhh." Blaine says quickly. "Finn, I'm sure they meant the sweet innocent looking cheerleaders." He says as he chases Finn down the hall.


	36. Chapter 36

**Brand New Start **

**Chapter 36**

**Rachel POV**

"I was right." Finn says staring at me from his spot on the bed.

I flatten the skirt against my hips and turn to look in the mirror. "About what?" I ask looking at him in the mirror.

"Your ass looks amazing in that skirt."

I turn and look at my behind in the mirror. Not bad, I think. "Oh really?" I say coyly.

"REALLY REALLY AMAZING!" He says sitting up.

"So would you have wanted me to try out for the cheerios in high school?" I giggle as I walk toward him.

"Hell no. I think all those girls slept with Puck." He says as he wraps his arms around my waist and stares up at me.

"Well I don't think you had to be a cheerio to do that." I laugh.

"Well it wasn't a requirement or anything but it sure did wonders for Quinn if I remember." He says frowning.

"Not everyone got pregnant just because they slept with Noah."

"Either way, I wouldn't have wanted everyone staring at you."

"So are you saying that this uniform is the only reason people would stare at me?" I frown.

"Um, wait; is this one of those moments where no matter how I answer I'm going to be in trouble?"

"Maybe."

"Then I'm just going to do this." He pulls my waist toward him until my knees hit the bed and he reaches up to pull my face toward his. His lips meet mine in a fiery kiss as he falls backwards on the bed pulling me with him. He rolls us so that my back makes contact with the bed as he pulls back and stares at me.

"You really think that is going to get you out of trouble?"

"I was kinda hoping so." He says with that famous lopsided grin.

"So I'm guessing you are enjoying my costume." I say looking down between us at his growing excitement.

"Uh, it's definitely causing a reaction." He says rolling over onto his back. "But uh, just so you know, it's only because I used to think about it A LOT in high school. And because it's totally something that I'm not used to seeing you in."

"So you don't want me to walk around in this daily?"

"Baby, I don't want you to walk around in it outside of this room!" He laughs.

"Well that's going to be difficult unless we have the show in our room."

"Yeah I get it; it's just something I'll have to get used to. I just don't want guys touching you."

"Babe, I'm going to have to dance with people. Men."

He pouts and I roll onto my side and run my fingers across his cheek. He reaches up and grabs my hand.

"Just don't leave me for any of them."

I pinch him on the shoulder. "Why would I leave you for anyone else?"

"You know what a bad dancer I am. What if one of them comes in and sweeps you off your feet with their awesome moves?"

I throw my head back giggling. "But I'm in love with your awesome moves."

"Whatever, you know I don't have moves."

"Oh you have moves. You know I love that one way you move your hips?" I reach down and grasp his hip with my hand and pull him toward me, pushing myself against him.

"Oh that move." He says softly.

I nod my head as I wrap my leg around his hip and his hand goes to my butt as he rolls over on top of me pushing his hips and grinding his erection against my core. "That move?" He grins.

"Oh I really like that move."

"That's not dancing babe."

"That's the kind of dancing you and I are good at." I whisper into his ear.

"Well let's just be thankful I don't have to hit a mailman every time we have sex anymore." He laughs into my neck.

"I think we need to buy that poor guy a fruit basket or something." I giggle loudly.

"Hey! He got me through a lot of good times with you."

"Exactly. You owe him something."

"You know I saw him once."

"The mailman?"

"Yeah, he was at the grocery store one day when Kurt and I were buying milk. He was buying hot dogs in the aisle across from us and I almost pissed myself when he turned around. Kurt thought I had gone crazy."

I laugh loudly as I press my lips to his ear. "Well thankfully we don't need him anymore."

"No we don't." He says reaching down and moving his hand under my skirt, brushing his palm against my core.

"I think someone else likes wearing this costume." He says as his fingers slide under the elastic of my panties.

"Actually I think it's awful, but your reaction is quite enjoyable." I slide my hand down his chest and down between us to the bulge in his boxers.

"I always wondered what it would be like if you became some cocky cheerleader." I look up at him and raise my eyebrow.

"Oh really? Well….." I quickly sit up and roll him over onto his back. "Let me show you what you were missing."

His grins widely and pushes himself up on his elbows as I slide my hands down his chest and pull on the elastic of his boxers, sliding them down his legs and freeing his erection.

I slowly guide my hands back up his body until I am hovering over him and bring my lips to his. He wraps one of his arms around my neck and pulls me hard against him. I put my hands on his chest and push myself away from him, wagging my finger in his face.

"Nuh uh." I say as I slide back down his chest and I hear him moan quietly as my mouth makes contact with his nipple. I grin against his skin, moving my hand down to grip him in my hand.

"God Rach." He moans and I look up to see him watching me as I smile and run my tongue down his chest. I kiss every part of his stomach, swirling my tongue around his belly button as my hand circles the tip of his penis and slides back down the shaft.

"God you're beautiful." He says as he pulls the hair from my face and looks down into my eyes.

"Did you think about this back in high school?" I whisper. I've always been pretty shy about asking Finn what he thought about in high school. Maybe I was always afraid of his answer. But for some reason today I'm feeling brave and sexy.

"All the damn time Rach." He grunts as my tongue slowly circles the tip of his penis.

"Really now? All the time?" I giggle as I slide him into my mouth and I enjoy the way his body shivers under me.

"Babe, there would be times in Glee when you'd be on the other side of the room and I'd just be staring at you wondering what your mouth would feel like on me."

"Finn!" I say looking up at him.

"What! You asked. I just answered."

"Did you really?" I say timidly wondering if he's making it up.

"You remember that time you talked about not having a gag reflex in the middle of class, I seriously killed that mailman about ten times the rest of day."

I slide his cock to the back of my throat and he throws his head backwards groaning.

"You mean that." I smirk as his head comes forward again.

"Yeah that!" He moans softly.

"I always wondered why guys thought that was a good thing." I say acting innocently. I slide him back into my mouth and swirl my tongue as my hands roam his thighs.

"God yes Rach." He groans.

"I used to think about it to. I used to wonder what it would be like. Or what you tasted like."

"Fuck!" he grunts throwing his head back against the pillow.

I grin at his reaction and continue to slide him in and out of my mouth as my hand grips him, pumping him into my mouth.

"I like how you taste." I say softly as he pops out of my mouth and his neck snaps up quickly to look at me.

"Babe you are killing me." He moans.

"Why?" I giggle sliding him back into my mouth.

"You never talk like that. It's hot."

I swirl my tongue around the tip of his cock and then slam him back into my mouth as he watches me intently, my eyes never leaving his.

"Do you like that?"

"Oh God yes. It feels amazing."

"Then prove it." I wink. He looks at me confused. I slide my hand down his shaft and graze his balls as I look back up at him. "Cum for me."

He moans loudly as his dick hits the back of my throat and I feel his body tense beneath me. "God." He grunts as I feel the hot liquid hit the back of my throat as I continue to stroke him until he relaxes in my hand. I slide up his body licking my lips and nuzzling into his neck.

"How was that for cocky?" I giggle into his ear.

"That was so damn hot babe." I kiss his lips sliding my tongue into his mouth but he pulls back suddenly. "But I'm totally happy with you not being a cheerio. I like that I'm the only one who gets you like this."

"Me too." I whisper against his lips. "I liked being me and I still got the hot quarterback."

"Works for me." He laughs but then looks at me seriously. "Hey wait, does that mean you are gonna have some hot quarterback taking you to prom at this thing?"

"Um, I don't know. I know there are football players in this thing, but I'm just a background character Finn."

"Not for long I bet. Not once they see what you can do. And I mean like the singing thing, not the whole blow job thing."

I kiss him hard on the mouth. "I love you."

"I love you too! But please convince them that the hot cheerleader needs a gay nerd as their prom date."

I throw my head back onto his shoulder giggling. "I'll be sure to tell them that. But I'll still save a dance for you."

"You better!" I look past him and see the clock and jump up out of bed.

"Crap, I'm going to be late for rehearsal."

"Awww, I was looking forward to flipping up that skirt and…" I smack him on the arm.

"Maybe later stud." I giggle as I kiss him on the forehead and grab my bag.

"I'll wait up ok. I have a late class tonight and then Blaine and Kyle are coming over to write."

"Ok baby, love you!" I holler as I run out the door and bang on Kurt's door. "KURT! We are going to be late." I push the door open and freeze at the sight in front of me and quickly slam the door shut behind me. I run back to our room and lean against the door staring at Finn.

"What?" he asks confused.

"Um. Wow. Let's just say that I just saw my best friend in a way I never wanted to."

He sits up quickly. "Seriously?"

"Oh yeah! You remember that weekend when Kurt and Blaine went on that date to Sardi's?" He nods his head. "You remember how much fun we had that night in front of the window."

"Oh yeah." He grins.

"Yeah well that position seems really popular for guys too."

His face drops. "Oh my God!"

"Rachel can we just be adults and get this embarrassment over with so we can go?" I hear Kurt's voice coming from the other side of the door.

I close my eyes and take a deep breath as I open the door. "Hi uh, yeah let's just…um…can we just go?" I say quickly.

Kurt looks over at Finn who looks mortified. "HEY! At least we were quiet about it! Unlike Mr. OH MY GOD! In here."

I snort loudly as I shut the door behind me. Blaine comes out of the room and his eyes avert mine as he heads to the kitchen.

"Ok let's just go!" I laugh.

We walk in silence down the stairs toward the cab. "I guess he liked the costume." Kurt says laughing.

"Oh very much so." I giggle and we continue walking in silence.

We get in the cab and I look over at him. "I guess Blaine liked the view from the window." I put my hand to my mouth to hold in my laughter.

"Well you should know. I'm pretty sure we got the idea for that from you and Finn."

I look at him confused and he raises his brow.

"If you are going to do that at night, remember to turn off the lights. You can see everything in your room from the street."

I look at him mortified. "OH. MY. GOD."


	37. Chapter 37

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 37**

**Blaine POV**

"Dude you know I can't talk about this. He's my brother and it freaks me out."

"All I said was that it wasn't the first time." I laugh as Finn puts his fingers in his ears.

"NO! Blah blah blah blah, I don't hear you."

There is a knock on the door and I jump up to answer.

"Yo!" Kyle says as he walks in and looks over at Finn still jumping around with his fingers in his ears. "What's up with him?"

"He's being immature."

"NO I'm not! I just don't want to talk about it, think about it, imagine it, Oh God, now I'm imagining it!" He sits down on the couch staring straight ahead. Kyle looks over at me confused.

"I had sex with his brother." I laugh.

"OH GOD STOP!" Finn yells and Kyle starts laughing.

"Serves you right for all the times they have walked in on you and Rachel."

"Hey, if we are using that as an excuse then someone still needs to walk in on you naked after you walked in on my girlfriend."

"You volunteering cuz I'm not down with that?" Kyle laughs as he tosses his guitar onto the table.

"OK enough talk of naked men and sex." Finn says putting his hands in his hair.

"Fine, let's look at what we have from last week." I say reaching into my bag and pulling out the papers from our last writing session.

"I was working on something too." Finn says jumping up from the couch and running to his room.

"I might have a gig for us." Kyle announces.

"Oh yeah?"

"It's nothing big. And it's not until next month, but it's something."

"What's something?" Finn asks coming back into the room with a stack of papers in his hand.

"A gig maybe." Kyle says sitting on the floor with his guitar in his hand.

"Oh yeah! Sweet."

"Yeah well don't get excited. It's this grand opening for this yogurt shop. Nothing major, but it's a paying gig. My Uncle knows the owner and he said they were looking for a band to perform. He's gonna put in a good word."

"I like yogurt." Finn says licking his lips.

"Of course you do." I laugh. "So where did we leave off?"

"Well I started writing some of the drum parts for the chorus." Finn says pulling his drum sticks out of the back of his pants and banging out the beat on the coffee table.

"Hey that sounds pretty good." Kyle says as he starts strumming his guitar to the beat.

"You know this would sound really nice with a keyboard melody under the guitar." I say tapping my foot.

"How you gonna play both parts? Kyle says stopping.

Finn and I look at each other and smile. "Sam." We both say.

"Blondie? I thought he went back to L.A." Kyle questions.

"He did. But…" I start.

"What do you think of adding two more to our band?" Finn continues.

"We hardly even have a band right now, but it would be nice if we could add some bass or keys." He says thinking out loud. "Can they play?"

"Oh yeah. Puck can play any thing with strings and Sam plays keys, guitar, you name it."

"You think they can be ready by the yogurt launch?" I ask.

"Let's ask them." Finn says grabbing his cell phone. He dials the number and then clicks on the speaker phone.

"Yo it's Puckerman! Talk!"

"Puck, it's Finn."

"FINNY! Boy what up what up?"

"Hey Puck." I yell toward the phone.

"You got me on speakerphone? I thought you said you'd never put me on speakerphone after that time I talked about your sex life without knowing your mom was in the room."

"Yeah well my mom isn't here so there's nothing you can say to fuck me up!" Finn laughs.

"Oh yeah? Remember that time you and I got drunk and passed out in my bed and when we woke up…." Finn jumps for the phone and turns off the speaker.

"DUDE WE SWORE WE WOULD NEVER TALK ABOUT THAT!"

"Woah!" Kyle laughs.

"Hudson, didn't know you had it in you." I chuckle.

"Nothing happened, it was a misunderstanding!" He yells. "I'm putting you back on speakerphone, be nice asshole or I'm changing my mind." He pushes a button and I can hear puck laughing.

"Change your mind about what?"

"Where's blondie?" Kyle asks into the phone.

"Who's there?" Puck asks.

"It's Kyle."

"Yo Sammy, boys on the phone, get in here." Puck yells and I hear some banging and then Sam's voice.

"What?"

"Finn's on the phone. We on speaker." Puck announces.

"Hey Finn." Sam says.

"Hey, so look, we have something to talk to you guys about." Finn starts talking.

"Tell me you didn't get her pregnant?" Sam says seriously into the phone and Finn looks at the phone with a look of disdain on his face.

"Wait what? No, no one is pregnant."

"We want to know if you guys are still interested in One Night Stand?" I shout.

"Seriously?" Puck shouts. "Like for real or are you just messing with me. Cuz if you're just messing with me that's really rude."

"Dude, shut up. We're serious." Finn says rolling his eyes. "Don't make me regret it already."

"So like you want us to haul your gear and stuff." Sam asks.

"What? No, well I mean, yes you will haul stuff around because we don't have a crew, but we were more interested in your musical contribution."

"Like actually join the band?" Puck says loudly into the phone.

"Yes asshole, actually in the band." Finn says annoyed and hits the mute button. "If we have to say it again I'm changing my mind." He clicks the button.

"I gotta talk to the school about a transfer. I looked into NYU when I was there and they were totally interested."

"What kind of grades do you get man?" I say impressed.

"I barely pay attention but it must be good because I have no issue getting in anywhere. Hell, I turned down Princeton when I got the offer my senior year because I wasn't sure I wanted to go to college." Sam says acting as if he's barely interested in school.

"So is this something you could get done by next month?" Kyle asks.

"Like this next month?"Pucks says.

"NO like next years next month. YES this next month you idiot." Finn yells.

"Ok chillax man! I can be there whenever you want."

"Yeah me too. It won't take long." Sam says.

"Awesome, cuz we have a gig next month." I say giving Finn the thumbs up.

"We'll call you guys next week when we know more ok?" Sam announces and Kyle nods.

"Ok, perfect, hear from you then." Finn says. "And Puck, that's THIS next week not next months next week."

"Fuck you Hudson." Puck shouts as the phone disconnects.

"Well this opens up a whole lot to this song." Kyle says scribbling down some notes. "This whole bridge is going to sound better with some bass in it."

We work for the next couple of hours until the song is finished. It's the first real song that we have worked on together and finished. Most of the songs we have sung during our gigs have been stuff our management group gave us to cover. But now we have our first "One Night Stand" original.

"This is going to kick ass." Kyle says staring down at the finished song.

"Now we just need places to play it." I say.

"It's gonna happen." Finn says sitting back on the couch. "I know it is."

Just then Rachel and Kurt burst through the front door giggling arm in arm. "Did you see how she was dancing?" Kurt is saying.

"Oh God yes, and the way George was grinding up on her until she fell over." They both snort until they realize we are all staring at them.

"Oh hey!" Kurt giggles.

"I guess rehearsal went well." I say as he walks over and sits on my lap.

"It was amazing." Rachel says spilling over with excitement. "This is the most fun I've had in forever. You guys have to come out once the show starts."

"Oh I wouldn't miss this." I laugh as I flick the glasses on Kurt's face with the tape knotted up in the center of the frames.

I look over at Kyle who is practically drooling over Rachel's costume. "SO KYLE!" I say loudly and he quickly looks at me.

"Uh yeah?"

"Why don't you tell them what they missed?"

"Oh uh, we got two new band members." He says to Rachel as he puts his tongue back in his mouth. That costume is going to stir up crap again if he doesn't stop staring at her thighs.

"Really? Who?"

"Sam and Puck." Finn says kissing Rachel on the cheek. I'm thankful that he can't take his eyes off Rachel long enough to realize that Kyle can't either. Kurt must have noticed it as well because he jumps off my lap and grabs Rachel by the hand. "That's totally awesome, but we need to go change now."

"Oh, but I want to talk about this. When are they coming? Where are they going to stay? How did this happen?" Rachel says excitedly.

"Well I think we can talk about that once we have changed into something less revealing."

Rachel looks up at him. "What?"

"I mean more comfortable." He says pulling on her hand.

She gets up reluctantly and follows him out of the room. Kyle watches her skirt bouncing up and down until she is no longer visible and then swallows.

"Well I think I need to go home." He announces and grabs his guitar placing it in front of his waist and grabbing his bag as he heads for the door.

"Oh well cool dude. See you at school tomorrow." Finn says nodding at him as he leaves.

Kurt and Rachel come back from the bedroom a few minutes later. I laugh when I see that Rachel is wearing large bulky flannel Pj's and looking around the room.

"Kyle left." I say and I see her breath a sigh of relief.

"Rach what the hell? Why are you wearing that?" Finn says when he sees what she is wearing.

"Oh, uh I was cold." She says quietly as she curls up beside Finn on the couch.

Kurt sits down next to me and winks.

"So what do you think?" Finn asks Rachel. "About Puck and Sam coming?"

"Well obviously I'm happy to have them here. I was sad having them all the way in L.A. But where are they going to stay?"

"Not here!" Finn says loudly.

"I'm sure they can find something. They found something on their own in L.A."

"True." Kurt says to me.

"We might have a gig." Finn says pulling Rachel on to his lap.

"Yeah?"

"Brace yourselves." I announce. "It's a yogurt shop opening."

"Awww, Finn loves yogurt." Rachel giggles and Finn kisses her cheek.

"I miss this." Kurt says smiling up from the floor by my feet.

"What?" Finn asks looking at him.

"Us. We haven't had a Klaine and Finchel night in forever."

"We haven't have we?" Finn nods.

"Let's promise not to forget it again." I say patting Kurt on the shoulder.

"Starting now." Rachel says jumping up from Finn's laugh.

"What are you doing babe?"

"Setting up a game of COD! Finn and I are going to wipe the floor with you two." She says running over to the Xbox.

"I love you." Finn says hopping up and following her over to the game room.

"I'm glad you had fun at your new show." I say looking down at Kurt.

"I did. I think it's going to be a ton of fun. And I'm glad I get to do it with Rachel."

"Are you two coming or not?" Rachel yells.

"Yeah get in here so we can show you how this is done!" Finn shouts.

"They do realize we have beaten them the last six times we have played right?" Kurt says smirking at me.

"It's like taking candy from a baby!" I say high fiving him and following him into the room.


	38. Chapter 38

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 38**

**Finn POV**

"Yo yo yo Hudson!" Puck yells from across the security lane. Sam waves at Rachel and they make their way toward us.

"I'm so excited." Rachel squeals as she breaks free from my hand and jumps into Sam's arms. Puck walks over and bumps my fist.

"I knew we'd be back bro." He says.

"Yeah well, as I said on the phone. Don't make me regret it!" I laugh.

"You guys, isn't this amazing? The four of us in New York City. I could scream." Rachel squeaks.

"Please don't Berry. I don't want to have to gag a lady but I will." Puck jokes and I give him a dirty look.

"I thought that's what you did with that one chick last Friday night?" Sam jokes.

"Hey that was NO lady!"

Flashes go off from across the street as we walk back to the car. I look up and see a few people waving in our direction and I wave back as I climb into the driver's seat.

"I guess they are back to work." I say to Rachel as she gets in.

"Yeah I saw them earlier when we got out. That's good for the band though right?"

"I guess."

We pull up at the loft and grab their stuff out of the back of the car. They will be staying with us until they find a place of their own. I'm excited but the house is getting crowded. When we walk in the door Kyle, Kurt and Blaine are playing a video game and yelling loudly.

"That was my kill Kurt." Kyle complains.

"Oh go sod off. You whine like a girl and we're the gay guys!" Kurt jabs. Blaine starts laughing and then notices we have arrived.

"Hey! You guys made it!" He says jumping up and grabbing some bags from Sam's hand.

"Hell yeah, now where's the food?" Puck shouts.

Rachel groans and heads to the kitchen. Puck leans over, "She's not going to make that gross tofu pizza again is she." He whispers.

"Maybe." I smirk.

As we're sitting around the table eating our pizza, peperoni of course because Rachel always makes her own tofu pizza and doesn't force me to eat it, we are all joking and talking about the yogurt shop gig that we finally landed.

"So it's a shop for just yogurt?" Puck asks confused.

"Does it matter what they serve? It's a gig." I say as I toss a piece of peperoni at Puck.

"Hey you'd be wise to hush mister or my story will have to come out."

I look at him in terror. "You wouldn't."

"What story?" Rachel asks. Oh shit!

"It's nothing. Not important, nothing to tell." I say quickly getting up from the table and putting my dish in the sink.

"Finn, it sure seems like something to tell." She laughs.

"So it's junior year…." Puck starts.

"PUCKERMAN! Don't you dare?" I shout.

"And my boy here is in a complete depression about Rachel."

"I'm not fucking kidding." I say walking back to the table.

"Finn let him talk man!" Sam says enthused. "I haven't heard this either."

I groan and put my head into my hands and rest them on the table.

"So before I was interrupted I was saying that Finn here is in depression. He and Rachel are on the outs, and I'm feeling pretty bad about it."

"Because you helped cause it!" I yell.

"Shh. I'm talking bro. My story here!"

"I'm feeling pretty bad about it cuz well I might have had a small part it in."

I groan again and I feel Rachel's hand graze my thigh and she smiles nervously at me.

"So anyway, it's after our big win at the Superbowl and Finn and I are still not on the best of terms."

"Ok I think I'm missing what the heck you had to do with them breaking up." Kyle interrupts.

"Yeah he's leaving out the making out with my girlfriend part." I laugh.

"My story bro!" Puck says irritated.

"It's vital information dude!"

"Whatever! Continuing. So Finn's all upset a couple of days after the game and he's not talking to anyone. So I talk to him after school one day and he says he's tired of fighting and he just wants to get drunk."

"Finn!" Rachel scolds beside me.

"What! I was stressed out. I had a lot going on back then."

"ANYWAY you two. As I was saying, we go back to my place and really party. Like I still don't think I've ever drank like that again. We both pass out cold. But when I wake up…."

I jump up from the table. "I'm out." But Rachel grabs my hand and pulls me back down in my seat.

"And I wonder where I am when I wake up because all I can feel is someone behind me, groping me. And I look down and I feel these arms wrapped around my waist and I'm freaking out thinking I'm about to be gang raped or something and then I hear it."

"Oh my God what?" Kurt says totally in to the story.

"It's this low moan. 'Raaachel, oh Rachel.' And I turn my face and all of a sudden someone is kissing me. So I yank back and scream 'rape rape' and the person who was kissing me falls off the bed."

"Jesus Christ you make this so dramatic." I shout.

"I look over the bed." He says peering down on to the floor in dramatic fashion. "And I see my boy here Finn, dressed only in his spiderman boxers, and he's cuddling my dog now, trying to make out with poor old Reggie, crying out for Rachel."

"Oh my God!" Everyone around the table says as they all burst into laughter.

"Yeah yeah make fun of me. I was drunk and I was having a moment!"

"Yeah with Reggie!" Sam blurts out as he holds his sides laughing.

"Whatever." I say getting up from the table.

Rachel looks up at me and she's trying not to laugh but she also looks kind of sad. I turn back to the table. "Hey I was confused. Quinn had kissed me after that damn game, I thought Rachel wanted Puck or something, and I was generally pissed off. I can't help it if I drunk dream about Rachel." I say seriously.

"I'm happy you drunk dream about me." She says grabbing my hand.

"Yeah it's better than what they do now when they get drunk." Kurt laughs and then starts to mimick our voices. "Oh God Rachel right there. Oh please Finn don't stop."

"Oh laugh it up big boy!" I say kicking the back of Kurt's chair.

"So were these like the cookie monster boxers." Sam laughs.

"Oh God! Let's so not go there, I think we've picked on Finn enough." Rachel says seriously.

"Oh now you wanna stick up for me." I say to her.

"Ok I'm missing something." Kyle says confused.

"Let's just say Finchel has a tendency to tape their sexcapades and sent them to their friends on accident." Kurt announces to the table.

"Holy hell you two." Kyle chokes.

I look over and Rachel is getting red in the face. "I think we've talked enough about this now. I think we should clean up." She gets up from the table and starts to remove the dishes from the other guys.

"So these videos, are they out there on the net somewhere?" Kyle asks.

"Don't go there man, I'm not afraid to hit you." I joke.

"Kiddddding! He says holding up his hands in front of his face. And I wonder if he actually was kidding, but I've gotten used to his joking about Rachel now. And I know that Rachel wants nothing to do with him anyway. She's my girl and no one is taking her from me ever.

"Ok boys, clean up and go work on your next song. I expect you all to be back out there performing soon!" Rachel grabs the towel and swings it at my butt. Everyone gets up from the table and takes their stuff to the sink and heads back out to the living room.

"You coming Hudson?" Puck asks.

"In a minute, I'm gonna help Rachel with the dishes." Puck's face drops.

"Fuck you are whipped!" He says shaking his head as he leaves the room.

"Baby you don't have to do that. I know you guys got work to do."

"No way, just cuz you are the only girl in this house doesn't mean you need to take care of all of us guys. That's like sexual or something."

She laughs and then puts her arms around my neck. "Sexist. It's totally sexist Finn. So thank you." She leans up on her toes and softly plants her lips to mine. I wrap my arms around her waist and lift her off the floor as I deepen the kiss and she squeals into my mouth.

I set her back down on the ground. "I love you Rach."

"I love you too." She smiles.

"I'm so glad we worked things out. I wouldn't have a life without you."

"Me either baby." She giggles and turns to the sink and starts to wash off the dishes. I walk over beside her and start drying the clean dishes and put them away.

"We make a good team." She giggles as she hands me a cup.

"We always have. I seem to recall the only time our football team won a championship was when you and I were both on the team." I smile down at her.

"And Glee club only won the years we were together on the club." She states.

"So true. We're like totally awesome and stuff."

"Team Finchel." She giggles and gives me a wet high five.

"You two are disgusting." Puck complains as he walks in the kitchen and grabs a beer from the fridge. "Cute but totally disgusting." He walks back out of the room.

Rachel and I look at each other and laugh. "Do you ever wish you were single?" She says quietly.

"What? Why?"

"You've been dating me since high school. Now you're in a band and girls love you and you're still tied down."

"Baby, I'd be tied down by you any day." I smirk as I wrap my arms around her and bring my forehead down to hers.

She smacks my arm. "I'm being serious."

"Babe, there is no way I want to be single. Ever again. I love being with you. Besides, none of this would even be fun if I didn't have you to share it with. You make this worth it."

She blinks and then I see a smile grow on her face. "You'd tell me if you wanted to be free right. Even if you just needed a break."

"Babe this isn't friends. This is real life, we don't get to take a break. Besides, I remember that didn't go so well for Ross and Rachel anyway."

She giggles. "They still ended up together in the end."

"Yeah and so do we." I lean down and capture her lips with mine and she sighs as we make contact. I groan as I hear the guys calling for me in the other room.

"Go, write some epic music. You could even write me a song." She grins against my lips.

"I only want you forever, don't forget that." I say softly as we pull apart.

She grins and then gets a mischievous look on her face. "Tied down huh?" She giggles.

"Woah. That was a joke." I laugh nervously.

She winks and then walks back toward the bedroom. I stand there staring at her wondering if she realizes I really was kidding about the being tied down part, and then I make my way to the guys in the living room.

"You done being a girl Hudson?" Puck smirks as I sit down.

"Fuck off; at least I have a girl." I snap.

"Let's get down to business shall we. We have one original song and we need at least 6 before we do that gig." Blaine says seriously.

"Ok let's get to work." I say grabbing my paper and pencil.

"Kurt, can I borrow you for a second?" Rachel asks coming in to the room.

"Sure Rachel, what do you need?" Kurt asks as he followers her toward the bedroom.

"I'm trying to find some rope. I need it for later." She says looking over her shoulder at me and grinning.

I swallow hard. Oh shit!


	39. Chapter 39

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 39**

**Kurt POV**

"So that's when the cheerleaders come out and do their dance thing. And then you just sort of mingle with the crowd. Dance with the guests and get people to want to vote for you. Does anyone have any questions?"

The choreographer Drew is standing on the small stage talking to the group for our last rehearsal before the show tomorrow night. When Rachel dragged me to this audition I never thought I would want to do something like this. It's not normally my kind of thing, but the last couple of weeks of rehearsals have been so fun that I can't wait for the real thing.

We have two shows this weekend, a matinee on Saturday afternoon and then one Saturday night. I'm not even nervous yet I feel like I'm so out of my league right now.

Rachel is practically squealing beside me as they start talking about the dance for the cheerleaders and she joins the group on stage and does the routine. I still laugh every time I see Rachel in a cheerleading uniform. Never in a million years did I think I would see her in one.

"Oh my God Kurt, that was so fun!" She says as we leave our final rehearsal. "I feel so alive."

"It is nice isn't it? Doing something together, just you and me." I say taking her hand in mine as we walk toward the cab.

"It is, I had thought that was going to be Julliard, but this is almost more exciting to me right now." She giggles.

"So when are we going to let the boys come?"

"I don't know. I haven't even given Finn the free ticket I have yet."

"Yeah I didn't tell Blaine I have tickets."

Everyone in the play gets "family tickets" to share with a few members of their family. I haven't wanted to give mine away yet. I can't figure out why.

"I think it's because we watch them all the time. At their shows and stuff. And they got media attention and this is the first time that I'm going completely out of my norm and maybe I'm just nervous about letting anyone see me like that. What if we bomb Kurt?"

"Why would we bomb? We're us!"

"Because I'm not an outgoing cheerleader. What If I can't pull that off?"

"You just need to channel your inner Quinn and get past it." I laugh and poke her on the nose.

"Oh Lord. Ok, channel my inner Quinn. I can do this." She takes a breath in and waves down a cab.

"Trust me, I saw you dancing today. You've got this down better than you think. How about this? We'll give them the tickets tonight, but they can't come until the second show. That way we know what it's like before they watch us."

"That's an awesome idea Kurt. Maybe we will feel better by the second show. Know what to expect and stuff."

"Exactly."

We laugh the rest of the way home as we talk about all the people in the show and how they remind us of someone back home. The large jock who acts like Karofsky, or the way we see Britney in the blonde who thinks her dog steals her clothes, and the girl with the attitude that reminds us of Santana. It's amazing how home sick you can make yourself even when you are having fun.

"There you two are." Blaine says as we walk through the door.

"Hey. Sorry, rehearsal ran over." Rachel says as she takes off to the bedroom to change. "What are we playing tonight?" She yells through the hall.

"Finn has it all planned." He says pointing toward the game room.

I walk in and see Finn putting cards out on a table and Puck and Sam are already sitting down eating popcorn and drinking beer.

"What are we playing?" I ask Finn.

"Poker. With popcorn." He says smiling and then turns and smacks the popcorn out of Puck's hand. "Dude that's for the game!"

"This party is dumb." Puck pouts.

"It's not a party, it's our game night." Finn complains as Rachel walks in the room and kisses him on the cheek.

"Yay cards. I love when we play cards." She giggles.

"You've always sucked at poker Rachel." Puck snorts.

"I don't suck at poker!" She pouts as she sits down next to Finn.

"She just gets really excited when she gets a good hand." Finn interjects.

"Yeah and then everyone knows it and that's why she sucks."

"Can we just play?" Finn complains.

"Yeah get ready to have all your popcorn taken away Finny boy." Puck jokes as he grabs a handful of popcorn and shoves it in his mouth.

"DUDE! You just ate your chips!" Finn shouts.

"Suck it and deal."

After an hour the popcorn is gone and Finn is pouting because Puck stole all of his popcorn and gave it to Sam.

"This game night thing sucks. Let's make it interesting." Puck announces and we all look at each other.

"This is interesting Puckerman." Rachel shouts at him.

"Calm down Berry. I just want to raise the stakes." He smirks as his eyebrow lifts and Sam starts laughing nervously.

"What exactly are we raising?" Blaine asks.

"Strip poker!"

"And you talk about me being gay." I joke. "You realize that you are sitting around a table with only one girl and two gay guys."

"Yeah, what's that supposed to mean? Not like you stare at my junk anyway." He says and then turns back. "Right?" He questions and I roll my eyes.

"No way, no one is seeing my girl naked." Finn protests.

"I'm cool with it." Rachel says smiling and Finn whips his head around to stare at her.

"What?"

"Sure, what's so bad about it? I've seen almost all of you naked at this point." She laughs.

"Woah, wanky Berry. Very wanky." Noah winks.

"When?" Finn asks looking confused.

"Well, obviously I've seen you naked and I saw Blaine and Kurt window shopping the other day." I roll my eyes at her and she laughs.

"Ok that covers three of us, that's all right?" Finn says looking like he's hoping she says yes.

"Well not really." She says quietly.

"You told me you didn't do that stuff with him." Finn shouts staring angrily at Puck.

"Woah, I ain't never seen her naked, or been naked around her." Puck says putting his hands up in defense.

"Yes I've never been naked around you, but I have seen you naked Noah." She grins.

"What? No you haven't."

"Yes I have. In the second grade."

"Second grade?" He questions.

"Temple. Water day. Closet. Ringing any bells?"

Suddenly Pucks face drops and Finn looks at both of them with his mouth open. "What the hell?"

"Oh, that day." Puck says finally.

"Why were you naked in a closet?" Sam laughs.

"We were getting changed. Berry here told me she would let me see her naked if I changed in front of her first."

"You what?" Finn says turning on her.

"Hey I was curious." She say shrugging.

"So I get all my clothes off, standing in this closet with this overhead light on and I tell her it's her turn."

Rachel starts giggling. "So I stole his clothes and ran out of the closet." She says quickly.

"Oh my God." Finn says still with his mouth ajar.

"I was pissed for days."

"I think that's why you started throwing slushies at me."

"Sexual frustration?"

"OK Not liking this conversation at all!" Finn says angrily.

"So I'm the only one you haven't seen naked." Sam says proudly.

"Exactly, now let's play." Rachel says shuffling the cards.

"Are you insane?" Finn argues. "You just lost every round we played. No way am I letting you get naked in front of him now."

"Oh Finn please, you need to relax." She starts to deal the cards as Finn sits back and grumbles under his breath.

An hour later Rachel is still wearing all of her clothes except for her knee socks. Finn is constantly rolling his eyes as he sits in his grumpy dwarf boxers and nothing else. Puck is down to his black tighties and a wife beater while Sam sits in a pair of white boxers and one sock. Blaine and I are both still wearing our undershirts, socks, and boxer shorts.

"This sucks. You freaking swindled us Berry." Puck shouts at Rachel.

"I just caught a really lucky streak." She smirks as she sets her cards down once again winning the hand.

"No way am I losing the boxers man!" Finn says tossing his cards down on the table. Sam throws his sock on the ground beside him and Puck loses the wife beater. Blaine and I decide to take off a sock each and Finn is pouting in the corner.

"Take them off Hudson." Rachel demands.

"Rach, you can't make me sit here naked in front of the guys."

"You lost, now take them off." She says standing her ground.

He groans and sits back down and you can see him moving his hands under the table. "There. No one look." He says pointing at everyone.

Rachel giggles and peeks under the table.

"HEY!" He says grabbing her shoulder.

"I see it every single night Finn." She complains.

"Yeah but I'm mad at you right now." He says with a slight grin on his face.

Puck deals the cards again and this time Rachel loses. "Crap." She says tossing her cards down. Finn smirks.

"What's wrong babe? Did you lose?" He says sarcastically.

"Don't start with me." She says as she stands up and removes her top.

"Woah, wait, what are you doing?" Finn says grabbing her shirt and putting it in front of her.

"Oh stop it. I'm playing the game." She says taking the shirt and throwing it down.

"Nice bra Berry." Puck winks.

"Stop looking at her dammit." Finn says punching Puck in the arm.

"Ouch. Calm down dude. It's just a bra!"

"Well I got nothing to take off; does that mean I can start putting clothes back on?" Finn says tossing his cards down.

"You have to win to get your clothes back." Sam laughs.

Blaine and I remove our other sock and Sam looks down at himself. "Well, all I got is my boxers." He moves his hands under the table and comes back out with his boxer shorts in his hand.

"We are so selling all of these chairs after this game." Finn says scrunching up his face.

"Are we done yet?" Finn complains again.

"Nope not til Berry is naked so I can steal her clothes."

"Not gonna happen Puckerman." Rachel says as she grabs Finn's beer and takes a swig.

"Yeah PUCKERMAN! Not gonna happen." Finn laughs.

The next round however goes to Puck again and Rachel is down to a pair of black lace panties and matching bra. Finn is starting to look nervous as Rachel and Puck stare each other down. Blaine and I realize we are both down to our boxers and we are on a major losing streak.

"Deal Puckerman." Rachel says lowering her head as she surveys her clothing. She looks back up and locks her gaze with Puck. The show down has begun.

"I fold." Finn says as he slams his cards on the table. "This game sucks. You better win this round because there is no way I am letting you take off any more clothes!"

"I'll win Finn, just relax." She says leaning over to Finn.

"I'm out." I announce as I toss my cards down and I hope that whoever wins ends the game as it's getting awkward sitting around a table with everyone naked.

"I'm out too." Blaine says beside me.

"You've both been out forever, stop announcing it." Puck jokes.

"Oh gay jokes please stop me before I laugh myself to death." I say rolling my eyes.

It's down to Puck and Rachel and neither one is backing down. Everyone is staring at them as they deal the final cards.

Rachel licks her lips and sits back in her chair crossing her legs. Finn is staring at her with his mouth open and I realize he's on his sixth beer and probably has already checked out of the game in favor for imagining Rachel naked at this point.

"Lay em down Berry, you're about to show me your tits." Puck says.

Finn's head pops up and he turns to Puck. "Dude, don't make me hit you."

"Oh Noah, it's taken you all these years to get your revenge." She starts to lay her cards down one by one as Puck begins clapping his hands. "It is such a shame that you fell short right at the end." As she lays down her final ace, Finn jumps up from the table cheering.

"YES!" He shouts.

Rachel is still staring at Puck and smiling and Puck realizes he has lost and tosses his cards on the table.

Finn finally realizes that he's naked and throws himself back down into his chair with his face bright red.

"Take them off Puckerman, you too boys." Rachel grins and turns to Blaine and me.

"Fine!" He says as he reaches down and removes the final piece of clothing.

Blaine and I remove ours as well, accepting defeat.

Rachel gets up and walks around the table picking up all the clothes lying on the floor. "Well boys, it's been fun. But I'm really tired and I think I'm going to bed now." She turns and starts to walk to the bedroom, throwing the clothes onto the couch in the next room. "Night!" She says as everyone watches her walk away in shock.

"Uh Rach, that's not funny. Get back in here." Finn yells.

We all look at each other. "Whose stupid idea was this anyway?" I shout looking over at Puck.

"I thought she was gonna lose!" Pucks shouts.

"She was obviously playing us." Sam laughs.

"So now what?" Finn says staring at me.

"I'm not getting up." I protest.

"So we just sit here all night?"

"Someone has to make a run for it." Sam says.

"This is the last time I let you guys talk me in to anything!" Finn says as he throws himself off his chair and onto the floor.

"What the hell are you doing?" Puck asks.

"I'm going to crawl to the couch and get our clothes. Everyone fucking close their eyes."

Everyone closes their eyes and waits for Finn to crawl to the couch. "Dude, what the fuck is taking you so long, stop being such a dick." Puck shouts.

"Really? You want to piss me off now. When I'm the one with your clothes." Finn says from the other room.

He walks in to the room wearing his boxers and holding our clothes. "So what did we learn today?" He asks us.

"That Berry is insane." Puck laughs.

"Yeah well she beat your ass didn't she?" He laughs.

"And she did look hot in black lace." He says and Sam kicks him hard under the table.

"And with that comment I bid you goodnight." Finn says dropping the clothes back into the living room and walking into his bedroom.

"Good job you idiot. Does your mouth ever NOT get you in trouble?" I ask Puck.

"Not usually like this." He jokes.

"Well look where it got you tonight." Blaine laughs. "At a table naked with two gay guys. How you feel now Puck?"

"Yeah well my plans seldom do work out."

"How long do you think it's going to be until he comes back out here and gets our clothes?" Sam asks.

"With the way he was looking at Rachel tonight, I'd give them a couple of hours." I laugh looking over at Blaine who nods his head in agreement.

We all stare at each other and laugh. Puck reaches for the cards. "Well I guess I'm dealing."


	40. Chapter 40

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 40**

**Rachel POV**

"We can't adopt a pet Rachel. We live in an apartment."

"Loads of people live in apartments and have pets." I pout as I look at the puppy in the window.

"Well loads of people aren't us. Who's going to take care of it?" Finn says as he reaches down and pets the little white dog in the play pen.

"Ok fine, not a dog. I guess that would be too much work. What about fish?" I say running over to the tanks.

I hear him groan as he follows me over to the tank. "Rach, do you really want to clean out a whole tank full of poop."

"Well we need to adopt something."

"Why? Why do we have to have a pet anyway?"

I look up at him and frown. "Just forget it." I say walking out of the pet store.

"Rach, what's wrong?" He asks as he catches up with me.

I stop and turn toward him. "Nothing. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get crazy." I reach up and hug him and kiss him on the cheek.

"Yeah but that was kinda weird crazy, even for you. Why the sudden urge for a pet?"

I sit down on the bench outside the shop. "What if I suck at taking care of things? What if I turn out like my mom?"

"Woah. Where did that come from?" He sits down and takes my hand.

"I don't know. There's this girl at school who's getting ready to graduate. She just found out she was pregnant. And all I could think about was how terrible for her."

I look up at him and he takes a big breath. "Are you trying to say you don't want kids?"

"I don't know what it means. It just means that I felt sorry for her when she told me. Like it was something bad that happened to her and then later when I told Kurt he got all happy for her. What if that means I'm like my mom and I'm going to suck taking care of a kid."

"Rach, there's no way you are going to be like your mom."

"You don't know that. I'm driven just like her. I want to be a star, just like her. And she had a kid and wanted nothing to do with it."

He sighs. "So you thought you would adopt a dog and see if you cared?" He chuckles. "I don't think it works the same way."

"I don't want to make someone feel abandoned like my mom made me feel."

"Rach." He says wrapping his arm around me and kissing my forehead. "You shouldn't worry about this stuff right now. We aren't even married. NOT that I'm saying we won't ever be married, I'm just saying you can't worry about it yet."

"I don't know how you put up with me."

"I don't put up with you. I love you and everything that comes with you."

I lean up and kiss him softly and rest my head on his shoulder. "I don't know what I did that was so good that God gave me you, but I'm really lucky he did."

"I'm the lucky one."

"I love you Finn."

"I love you too baby. Now let's get you to your first show before you are late."

I smile and grab his hand as we walk toward the car. "You're coming tonight right?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He smiles.

I meet Kurt at the corner and we enter through the back of the building. I'm really nervous but excited for the show. When we get to the dressing rooms and start getting dressed everyone is having a great time. Max finally shows right before show time dressed in what I can only describe as her best Lauren apparel. She really reminds me of Lauren and Puck mixed into one with her leather jacket and angry smirk.

"You guys ready for this?" Drew asks as he walks in and puts his arm around Kurt and me.

"So ready!" I grin.

"Then get out there and have fun. Remember that's what this whole show is about. So let loose and just enjoy yourself."

I nod and walk toward the stage and I can hear everyone on the other side and the music is really loud that it is almost drowning out the noise of my heart thumping in my chest.

"Let's do this Rachel." Kurt says grabbing my hand. We step out into the room and it's crazy. People are dancing and having a blast. They start the show and I join the cheerleaders on stage for a dance and song in the background. Afterwards I join the crowd and dance with a few guys. Kurt is having a blast with a couple of girls in the back who have attached themselves to each of his cheeks as he laughs loudly.

I've never had so much fun in all of my life. I can't believe I'm getting paid to do this. Nick Fender, the rebel of the group wins prom king this time and his queen is Inga the Swedish exchange student. We thank everyone for coming and return backstage to refresh for show number two.

"That was so much fun." Kurt says laughing as we enter the back room.

"Hell yeah, people actually asked me to yell at them! It was awesome." Max shouts.

"People acted so different around me. Whistling and acting shy like I was someone important. It was so weird." I giggle. I can't believe all the guys who acted like I was important or something. I never had that in high school. It was kind of fun to play this way.

"How do you think Finn is going to handle the way the guys pay attention to you?"

"Well he's going to have to get used to it. He has a collection of bras that get thrown on stage in that stupid trunk of theirs; I think a dance is quite tame."

"Yes but this is Finn we are talking about." Kurt laughs.

The second show starts just like the first. We join the group on stage to introduce ourselves and then mingle with the crowd. When I introduce myself I hear a few people holler and whistle and I quickly hear Finn's voice in the crowd and find him in the back of the room wearing his letterman's jacket from high school. Next to him also in their jackets are Sam and Puck.

I do a quick spin and head back towards Kurt on stage. After all the introductions we sing a quick song that ends with me doing the splits at the front of the stage and then we head off to the audience to dance. I quickly head back by Finn.

"Hey you." I say grabbing his jacket and pulling him in for a dance.

"Hey you sexy lady." He bends down and whispers in my ear.

"I've missed this." I say as I tug on his jacket.

"Oh yeah? Maybe I'll have to keep it on tonight." He smirks.

Suddenly Kurt grabs onto my arm. "We're up." He yells.

"I gotta go baby." I kiss his cheek and run after Kurt. We climb up on stage for our skit.

"Hey do you wanna maybe dance with me Ruby?" He asks.

"With you? I don't know about that Kenny. There's a lot of people watching." I say pointing out to the audience.

"But you said you liked me." He says pushing his tape rimmed glasses back up on his eyes.

"I do Kenny, but…."

Blaine yells out "Dance with him!"

Kurt rolls his eyes. "Please Ruby. Just one dance, I promise not to step on your toes."

"Ok Kenny. One dance." I walk toward him when our head cheerleader jumps on stage.

"What are you doing with him Ruby?" She says looking down at Kurt.

"I'm going to dance with him for one song."

"You can't dance with him, he's a nerd."

"You already said you were gonna dance with me." One of the football players says making his way toward the stage. "I thought you were my girl Ruby."

"Well I am Johnny but I like Kenny too and I'm going to dance with him for this one song."

Everyone gasps as I walk over and put my arm around Kurt. The lights dim and the song starts as Kurt and I walk to the middle of the floor and start dancing.

"We need to spice that up next time." Kurt whispers in my ear. "I think Kenny needs to fight for you with Johnny.

"Oh that's a good idea. I'll talk to Drew about that."

"Yeah like I could try and hit him or something and miss and fall down."

"Oh that's brilliant."

The next skit starts when the song ends and I feel a tap on my shoulder. A tall guy wearing a football jersey asks me to dance.

"Sure, what's your name?" I ask him as I put my arms around his neck to dance.

"I'm Tim. I really like your outfit Ruby."

"Oh. Well thank you." I giggle.

"I really like your hair too." He says leaning down and sniffing my hair. "Strawberries."

"Oh um. Ok." I say pulling back from him. I feel his hands drop below my waist and land on my butt and I quickly pull his hands back up to my waist.

"So what are you doing after this?" He says into my ear.

"Oh well I have a lot of studying to do." I giggle trying to stay in character.

"You know what I mean."

"Oh well, um, I don't. Cuz I have to get home and be ready for school tomorrow." I pull back a bit further from him.

Drew told us there would be guys like this who would hit on us and try and take us out after the show. We have rules though and we have to stay in character and we never give out our real names to protect ourselves.

"Excuse me." I hear Finn's voice behind my dance partner.

"Get lost." He says.

"Actually that girl over there asked me to give you this." He hands a paper to him and steps back. Tim reads the paper. "Shit. Damn wife can't let me have any fun. If you'll excuse me, I need to go." He turns and walks over toward the angry woman who wrote the note.

"Looks like you lost your dance partner." Finn grins.

"So I have."

"Mind if I cut in?"

"My pleasure." I giggle. "You handled that very well actually."

"Oh not really. I told Puck I was about to come over and kick the guy in the groin if he didn't get his hands off your ass after the third time. Puck told me you would be pissed so instead I started talking really loudly about how that guy was going to score with the cheerleader when I knew his wife was around."

"Oh my God you didn't."

"Sure did."

"How did you know it was his wife?"

"They came in together. She was looking for him and when she saw him with you, she had the same look I did."

"So are you enjoying yourself?"

"It's fun and you and Kurt were really cute up there. I don't really like how many people are whistling at you though. I'll be honest I'm feeling really protective right now."

"Oh yeah? Maybe I like that." I run my hands up his chest and he grins at me.

"Who's this Johnny fellow anyway?"

"Oh he's just one of the football players. He's supposed to be my boyfriend. I do a couple of dances with him later."

"Oh." He says as he stares around the room and his grip around my waist tightens.

The song ends and the lights come up for the next number. "I need to go baby." I turn and run up to meet Johnny, my dance partner for the rest of the show.

The music to "Time of your life" starts and Johnny and I do our dance in the middle of the dance floor. Everyone has a partner and does the same dance in different parts of the room and on stage. I see that Finn is watching every move I make as Johnny and I dance to the music. We all make a circle in the middle of the room as the guys pick Kurt up into a lift for the final part of the performance and the girls all dance around them.

When the dance finishes Johnny leans me over and kisses me as part of the end of the performance. It's not a long kiss and I am supposed to push him off of me for trying to go further. When I stand up and adjust my skirt I can see Finn is red in the face and Sam is holding him by the arm.

But the music quickly starts for "Love Shack" and everyone runs up to the stage for the number. I watch Finn through most of the song and he's sitting at the bar now tossing back a few beers. I knew I should have told him about the kiss, but I didn't want him acting like a baby about it.

We end the show with the announcement of prom king and queen and wish everyone a good night. Johnny picks me up and carries me off stage over his shoulder as I wave goodbye to the audience.

"Awesome show Rachel." Mark says as he puts me down. "I think you are getting the hang of this thing."

"Thanks Mark! It was fun." I run off to find Kurt and get changed out of my clothes.

"Finn's mad." I say when I find Kurt.

"I told you that you should have told him about the kiss BEFORE the show."

"Don't start with the I told you so stuff now. You're right! Are you happy now?"

"Yes I am, though it won't matter anyway if I'm right about the amount of alcohol Finn was drinking tonight. We could be in for a long night."

I sigh as we leave the dressing room and head out the back door. When we get outside I see Finn standing with his arms crossed against the car. I walk over to him slowly and he opens the back door and lets me in the car as he climbs in beside me. Blaine climbs into the driver's seat.

"Great show Rachel. You were really great." He says.

"Where's Kurt?"

"He's driving those drunken lunatics home." He says as he looks back at Sam and Noah climbing into the back seat of their car.

I finally look over at Finn who is looking out the window. "So, what did you think?" I say quietly.

"Yeah it was great." He says hardly sounded enthused.

I reach over to take his hand but he moves it before I can touch him. "Finn.."

"What? Sorry did you forget to tell me you wanted to hold my hand before you went and did it?"

"Finn, I wanted to tell you, but…"

"But what Rachel, you forgot? You thought it wasn't important?" He looks at me for the first time.

"I knew you would act like this. That's why I didn't tell you."

"Oh well that's totally understandable then." He huffs, turning back toward the window.

We pull up to the loft and he jumps out of the car and slams the door behind him.

"Well that went well." I say to Blaine.

"He'll be fine. You are going to have to kiss a lot more guys if you keep doing what you love. You're an actress and he is going to have to get used to that."

"Thank you Blaine." I climb out of the car and climb the steps to the loft.

"Girl that was awesome." Noah shouts as he enters the stairwell.

"Did you guys have fun?"

"A blast. It was weird seeing you dressed like that though." Sam laughs.

"Tell me about it." I say as I open the front door. "Thanks for coming guys." I say as I hug them both and start to walk to the bedroom.

"Don't worry about him, he'll get over it. You were great tonight Rachel." Noah says and I smile and open the bedroom door. Finn is sitting on the bed staring at the floor. I shut the door and sit next to him.

"I should have told you." I say quietly. He doesn't respond. "I'm sorry."

"I just don't get it. All you had to do was tell me it was coming. Do you know how hard it was for me to sit there and watch you make out with that guy?"

"Yes I do Finn. I used to watch you make out with Quinn all the time." I say angrily.

"That's different. Quinn and I were dating."

"It was still me watching you making out with someone who wasn't me."

He flinches and lies back on the bed with his feet still on the floor.

"You have to kiss him every night?"

I lay back and roll over to face him. "Yes."

"That sucks." He grunts.

"He has a girlfriend if that makes you feel any better."

"Not really."

"Finn, this is what I do. It's who I am. I'm hoping this isn't the last guy I have to kiss."

He sits up and stares at me. "What the hell does that mean?" He stands up and starts to get undressed, throwing his jacket on the floor by the bathroom and stripping to his boxers as he climbs into bed.

"It means that all the roles I want involve kissing the lead actor. I want to be in a starring role, but Finn, there aren't many that I want that don't involve kissing, or worse."

"There's worse than kissing on stage? Great!"

"I thought you understood this. You've seen the shows I like. Did you really think that I would just skip the kissing parts?"

"Yes." He says quickly.

"Really?"

"No. But I was trying to avoid that until it actually happened."

"Well it happened. So now you have to deal with it."

"Well it sucks. You're supposed to kiss me. Not other guys. Just me." He says rolling over and facing away from me.

I sigh and get up from the bed. "I'm going to take a shower."

I let the water flow over me as I stand there wondering how to make this right to Finn. How to get him to understand that it doesn't matter who I kiss on that stage. It doesn't matter because they aren't him. He's the only guy I have ever wanted like this. The rest is just acting. It's not even real.

I climb out of the shower and towel off. As I leave the bathroom my foot kicks something. I bend down in the dark and pick it up. It's Finn's jacket. I look over at him lying in bed with his back to me and I smile down at the jacket as I drop the towel to the floor and slip my arms into the sleeves. I walk over to Finn's side of the bed and stand in front of him, reaching down and sliding my hand up his exposed arm. He opens his eyes and looks up at me.

"Wha…." He stops mid-sentence and rubs his eyes.

I take his hand into mine and push it up against my stomach as I lean toward him. He sits up and puts his other hand around my waist pulling me to his chest. He looks up at me and I move my hand into his hair as I lean over and kiss his forehead.

"This is real Finn." I whisper. "When I kiss you, it's real." I kiss my way down his forehead, trailing a line of kisses down his nose and across his cheek.

"Nothing I do outside of this room with anyone else is real Finn." I pull his earlobe into my mouth and I hear him moan softly as I continue to kiss along his jaw line. "But I need you to be there for me, because you are the only thing that is real to me, the only thing that matters." I kiss his chin until I reach his mouth and I feel his hand grab the back of my head and pull me hard against his mouth as our lips collide and I hear myself groan as his tongue pushes against my lips forcing his way into my mouth.

I lift my leg until my knee slides down beside his hip and I can wrap my arm around his neck. He reaches behind me and his hand grips my ass as he pulls me onto his lap and I rub my center against his growing erection.

"I need you Finn, only you." His opens his eyes and looks up at me.

"It's always been you Rach. I've never wanted anyone like this." Our mouths collide again and I kiss him with such force that it almost feels like I can't hold back. I need him more than I've ever needed him before. My hands are exploring his chest and his hand is still in my hair, pulling me against him with such force. I've never been so turned on or so desperate to have him inside me.

I can feel him hard against my center and I need to feel him, to have him fill me. I reach down between us and free him from his boxers, leaning up and quickly sinking down onto him. He groans loudly and I throw my head back when I feel him fully inside me. His mouth is on my neck, sucking my skin into his mouth with such a fever that it feels like we are back in high school during one of our horny make out sessions behind the bleachers. Only now, now it feels so much more intense.

I feel the need inside me growing stronger with every thrust and the way his mouth is moving against my breasts is threatening to send me over the edge at any moment.

"Oh God Finn." I say breathlessly as his tongue swirls around my nipple and I slam down hard against his cock.

He looks up at me and his hand is in my hair again, pulling my face toward his and crushing my mouth against him. His other hand is on my back as he holds me tight against him.

I can feel the feeling start to take me as the kiss intensifies and I try not to scream out, instead a groan leaves my throat as I feel my walls start to quiver and I lose control as I slam down hard against him.

"Rachel…." He moans and his hand grip my hips as he lifts me and slams me hard onto his dick and I feel his shoulders tense and his head dip backward as he rides out his own orgasm.

He falls backward on the bed pulling me with him and I roll over onto my side and lean against his chest.

"I'm sorry I got so upset." He says kissing the top of my head.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the kiss." I say as I trace a line down his chest. "I just want you to know that it's acting. It's all just acting. What we did just now is real. With you it's always real."

He puts a finger under my chin and pulls my face to his. "I know baby. I'll get over myself. You just might have to remind me now and then." He smirks and kisses my nose.

"Are you suggesting I placate you by giving you sex when you get jealous?"

"Well I don't know what that means, but if it means you giving me sex to shut me up, then yes I'm suggesting that."

I adjust the jacket and lean down to smell the collar. "I love smelling your jacket."

He laughs.

"It smells like Finn." I giggle.

"I miss seeing you wear that jacket."

"You just miss me being naked in it."

"That too."

I look over at the clock on the dresser and realize I can't see it because there is something in the way. I squint my eyes in the dark and make out some sort of rectangular object sitting on the dresser.

"What is that?" I ask him as I sit up.

"Oh that? That's Mike."

"Mike, what the hell is a Mike?" I quickly get out of bed and turn on the light.

"It's a turtle Rach." He says walking over and leaning down to see the small turtle sitting on a log in the aquarium.

"Why is there a turtle on our dresser Finn?"

"Well, you wanted a pet. He doesn't need much and he's kinda cute don't you think."

I laugh and walk over beside him and look down at the turtle. "He is cute. Why Mike?"

"Well it's easier to spell than Michelangelo." He points to the name plate on the aquarium. "You know cuz of the Mutant turtles." He shrugs.

At the bottom of the name plate it says: "Parents: Finn and Rachel"

"We're his parents now?" I laugh.

"Well yeah." He says like it's the most natural thing in the world.

I look over at him staring lovingly at the turtle and I smile. "I love you Finn Hudson."

He looks up at me and grins. "I love you too Rachel Berry. You are going to be the best mom to Mike, I just know it."

I throw my head back and laugh loudly. "Ok daddy Hudson. I think it's time little Mike go to bed." I grab his hand and turn off the light pulling him toward the bed.

"Mommy sure is strict." He chuckles. "What if he needs food or water or someone to play with him, it's his first night in his new home."

I pull him toward me and lean up to kiss him. "I have other plans for daddy tonight."

Finn grins and looks back toward our new turtle as he pulls me onto the bed. "You're on your own Mike."


	41. Chapter 41

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 41**

**Blaine POV**

"Ok so meet us there in an hour." Finn is saying into the phone as we work to get all of our gear out of the van. Puck bought an old beat up Van and Sam painted the bands logo onto the side of it. It turns out it's pretty handy for hauling all our gear around. Puck and Sam found a place to stay on their own with a great place to practice in the basement so we have been going back and forth a lot lately.

"Ok Kurt and Rachel will be here in an hour." Finn says hanging up the phone.

"Alright, let's find out where we set up." I grab my guitar and toss it on my back and head into the store.

"Hey guys this is Gus, my Uncle." Kyle says introducing the man behind the counter.

"Hey I hear we have you to thank for this gig, so Thank you." I say holding out my hand as he shakes it.

"I saw what you boys did at that music fest and I'm honored to have you guys perform today. You're going to set up out back in the parking lot. The stage is already up."

We head out back and start putting our instruments on the stage. "I hope people come." I say nervously. "We've been gone a month. That's a long time for a local band."

"Let's just be happy if we have anyone show up. If we're lucky there will be more than just Rachel and Kurt cheering us on." Finn laughs.

At 10 Rachel and Kurt show up with coffee and energy drinks. "Are you guys excited? There are a bunch of cars coming this way." Rachel says as she hops up to Finn and kisses his cheek.

"Really? Are you sure they are coming here?" Finn asks her.

"Pretty sure. One of the cars even had your name on the window."

"My actual name? It could have been someone else's name."

"Not too many people have the name Finn." Kurt interjects.

"Oh my God that's them." We hear a girl shriek as she sits down in front of the stage with her friend.

"Well there we go Finn, you got your wish. There is more than just Rachel and Kurt here."

By the time we are ready to take the stage the crowd has really formed. It seems that the parking lot is crowded with people and they are having their own little party while they wait.

"Crazy shit." Puck says looking out at the crowd. I can't believe all these people came to see you guys."

"I'm sure it's cuz they heard you were in the band now." Finn jokes.

"Hell yeah that's why. They all want a piece of the Puckmeister."

"Oh Lord." Rachel says as she starts to walk to the side of the stage.

"See you guys later." Kurt says as we walk to the stage.

"You guys ready for this?" I say looking over at Sam and Puck.

"I was born ready!" Puck shouts.

"Let's do this then." I run up the stairs and straight for the mic.

"Hey there. Thanks for coming out. We've missed you guys. As you know we're One Night Stand, plus two. We have two new guys joining us so please make sure to make Sam and Puck feel welcome. Now who's ready to rock?"

We start into our first song and my mouth feels really dry because it's the first time we are playing something that is actually ours and I'm not sure they are going to like it. But with the way they are screaming I'm guessing either they can't hear the song and they are just cheering to cheer, or they actually enjoy it. After the sixth and final song, they are in a frenzy. The whole parking lot looks like a sea of screaming people and it feels really good to be back up here.

"Thank you again, we are One Night Stand. I don't know about you, but it's freaking hot out here. I think I need some frozen yogurt! Go enjoy!"

We run off stage and head in to the tent they have prepared for us to hand out frozen yogurt and meet our fans.

Everyone comes in asking for an autograph or when our album is coming out. It's crazy. Finn looks over at me and shrugs after the tenth person asks when our next show is and how they drove down from Boston to see us today.

"I really don't know yet." He says to her and then leans over. "Maybe we need like a website or something to post when we get gigs."

"Hi Finn." A voice says from in front of the table. Finn and I look up and instinctively Finn's leg jumps forward and he kicks the table.

"Quinn. Uh wow, what are you doing here?"

"I ran in to your mom the other day at the mall and she told me you guys were performing today. I wanted to see what it was like."

"So you just came to New York?" Finn questions.

"Of course silly." She laughs.

"Oh, that's cool?" He says confused.

"So where's Rachel?" She asks looking around.

"Oh she had to go. She's in a play downtown and she has a show at 5."

"Too bad, I was hoping to see her too. I'm sure she'd be so surprised to see me."

"You could say that again." Finn laughs.

"Probably best though, she never could handle me being around you. I guess she just can't handle our chemistry." She laughs fakely.

Finn looks over at me and scrunches up his nose.

"You know what we should do?" Quinn says grabbing Finn's arm.

"Uh wish you luck on your trip back home?" Finn says.

"No silly, we should go out tonight. You could show me New York."

"Uh yeah well Rachel is…"

"No you and me. You could take me out on the town. You know for old times' sake."

Oh that sounds like a really bad idea. Like a bad idea of the worst kind. The press would eat that up and spit it out on the 11 o'clock news.

"Oh…yeah I don't think…."

"Hey Finn." Kyle interrupts as he comes into the tent. "Rachel wanted me to give you this." He hands a shirt to Finn. "She said you sweat like crazy after the show and probably needed a clean shirt. She's so thoughtful you know."

Finn takes the shirt and puts it in his bag. When he looks up I can tell he's annoyed. But then he does this weird thing and all of a sudden the grin on his face starts to widen and he looks back up at Quinn.

"You know, that sounds like an excellent idea."

"Excuse me?" Quinn and I both say at the same time.

"Dinner. It sounds like a really good idea. Do you have something to write on?" He looks over at me and winks as Quinn hands him a piece of paper. "Meet me here at 8. We can catch up and see the town."

Quinn smiles and puts the paper in her purse. "See you later Finn." She smiles and waves back at him.

When she's finally gone I punch him in the arm. "What the hell was that about? Are you insane?"

"What?" He says looking at me dumbfounded.

"The press will have a field day if you take another girl out on the town."

"Who said I was taking another girl out on the town?"

"You just did when you asked Quinn out."

"I didn't ask her out. I told her to meet me at The Perk and we'd catch up." He goes back to signing stuff for the people in line.

"Yeah that's taking another girl out. I know you aren't dumb Finn." I whisper as I smile at the girl in front of me and sign her t-shirt.

"I'm not going out with her dammit." He whispers out of the side of his mouth.

"I'm freaking confused as hell."

"It will be alright dude. Just relax."

We finish up the signing and put everything back in the van.

"Did you see who was here man?" Puck says as we climb in.

"Yeah I talked to her." Finn says climbing in the back of the van.

"Who we talking about?" Kyle asks.

"Quinn Fabray." Sam says rolling his eyes.

"Who is that?"

"Finn's ex." Pucks says looking in the rear view mirror.

"She's your ex too." Finn responds immediately.

"Ah so another Rachel. Do you guys share all your girlfriends?" Kyle laughs.

"Hey!" Finn says sounding offended.

"Finn's going out with her tonight." I announce.

"No I'm not. Hey Kyle, how would you like to hang out at The Perk tonight? Say around 8pm." Finn says looking over at me and winking.

"Uh, sure. Just you and me?"

"No, I'm bringing Rachel." He smirks.

"Ok cool."

"Yeah sounds fun." Puck starts to say.

"No you can't come." Finn says quickly.

"Fuck you too." Puck barks backwards at him.

We get to Puck's and quickly unload the gear before he drops us back off at the loft. As Finn climbs out he yells back to Kyle. "8pm man. Be on time."

"Ok, what the hell are you doing?" I ask Finn as we climb the stairs.

"Payback!" He says nodding his head as if that should make total sense to me.

"For?"

"Are you kidding me? Kyle has been drooling over Rachel for months. He sees her naked and the other day while he was napping I heard him whimper her name in his sleep. He deserves a date with Quinn."

"And how do you think Quinn is going to take that one?"

"Don't care. As far as I'm concerned that girl needs some karma to bite her in the ass. Kyle's a pretty big piece of karma if you ask me."

"You really are bitter man." I laugh.

"I'm not bitter, I just get this angry feeling in my gut when I think of either of them."

"Yeah, so bitter."

We walk into the apartment and Rachel and Kurt are sitting with their feet up on the coffee table sipping on their nightly glass of green tea.

"Hey baby. How did everything go?" Rachel asks.

"Things were great. But you need to get dressed." He says tossing his bag down on the floor by the door.

"Get dressed? Why? Where are we going?"

"Out. The Perk."

Kurt starts to get up. "Oh we aren't going baby." I say quickly to him and he shoots me a dirty look.

"And just why not?" he questions.

"Uh, trust me. You don't want to go." I laugh.

"Wait, why don't you want to go?" Rachel asks me concerned.

"It's kind of a double date." Finn starts to explain.

"With who?"

"Kyle." Finn says as he starts to walk to the bedroom.

"Um just Kyle? Cuz that's not a double date Finn, that's a threesome and I don't think that's a good idea, especially with Kyle and if you try and tell me that you think that's cool or something then you and I are going to….."

"It's with Kyle and Quinn." Finn cuts in.

Rachel's face drops. "Quinn as in Fabray?"

"Yes. She was at the show today. And we are meeting her for a double date at The Perk at 8."

"Wait, stop Finn. You mean to tell me that Quinn Fabray came to the show today and then agreed to go on a double date with you, me and Kyle?"

"Not exactly." He says turning away from her again.

"Not exactly? So just what did she agree to?"

"Well she might think that she's meeting me for a date."

"She might what? And just where would she get that idea?"

Finn looks at me. "Oh no buddy, you are on your own here. You came up with this stupid idea yourself." I say putting my hands in the air.

"She might have asked me out. And I might have made her think I agreed to it."

"Why would you do that?" Rachel shouts.

"Calm down baby, it's going to be ok. Cuz you are going to show up with me and Kyle is going to show up and I'm going to hook them up."

Rachel's face scrunches up and she looks over at me. "Does this make any sense?"

"Nope, not to me." I say walking toward my room.

"Come on babe. It's gonna be fun." He says smirking at her.

"How is a double date with Quinn Fabray AND Kyle going to be fun?"

"We can totally mess with them." Finn smirks.

"Well it sounds like a bad idea to me." Kurt says getting up from the couch.

"Hush Kurt, don't listen to him Rachel. This could totally be fun."

"It sounds like a bad idea." Rachel says rejecting his plan. But Finn just smiles.

"You know she said today that the reason you don't like her is because you're jealous of the chemistry she and I have."

"She said what?" Rachel says stomping her foot and storming off to the bedroom.

"Where are you going babe?" Finn questions.

"To get dressed. We have a double date to attend."

Finn waits until she leaves and then jumps in the air pumping his fist. "Yes."

I shake my head at him and turn toward my room but not before turning back to Finn and laughing.

"Well played sir, well played."


	42. Chapter 42

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 42**

**Finn POV**

"Maybe this is a bad idea Finn." Rachel says looking up at me as we enter the coffee shop. I reach down and take her hand in mine.

"No way, I'm done letting her think she can just keep hitting on me. Besides, we haven't gone out in ages. I like this." I kiss her hand and lead her over to one of the couches.

"Do you see her yet? Oh crap, Tiffany's here." Rachel says crinkling up her nose.

"Well she does work here Rach. I kind of expected that might mean she would be here." I laugh as Rachel stands up. "Where are you going?"

"I need to use the ladies room. Be right back ok?"

"Alright babe, I'll be right here."

"Yeah don't go leaving me for Quinn while I'm gone." She says as she winks and skips off toward the back of the coffee shop.

"No chance of that." I catch myself saying out loud to myself. Honestly I don't know what I was thinking all those years ago. Sure Quinn was hot and she was kind of the first girl to show me any kind of attention, but honestly she's never exactly been nice. She treated me like crap most of the time and even after she had a baby with my best friend I still took her back. Boy I must have been really messed in the head to do that!

"Finn?" I hear a voice behind me and I jump up out of my seat to see Quinn standing behind the couch.

"Oh hey Quinn." I say looking back at the bathroom hoping that Rachel would come back soon. Quinn walks over and sits beside me, pushing herself up against me.

"Oh hey let me move over and make room for you." I slide over quickly so that there is some distance between us.

"Oh you didn't have to do that." Quinn laughs as she scoots toward me again.

"No really, it's a pretty big couch." I say backing up.

"So how did you manage to sneak away to be with me tonight?" She whispers in my ear.

"What?" I say looking up quickly at her.

"Quinn how wonderful to see you." I hear Rachel's voice behind us and I breathe out the air I was holding as Rachel comes and squeezes herself between Quinn and me. "Finn told me you were going to come tonight and I just didn't believe it could be possible. I figured you would be so busy back in Ohio that there was no way you would be in New York."

"Rachel." Quinn says softly as she stares over at me. "I didn't know you were coming."

"Well that's silly, why wouldn't I come?" Rachel giggles as she leans over and kisses me on the cheek.

"Oh um, well I thought you had a show tonight." Quinn answers still giving me a dirty look from the other side of the couch.

"Oh I did have a show, but Kurt and I rushed right home to see the boys when they got done today. I hear you got to see the show." She squeezes my knee. "Isn't my Finn just amazing?"

"Oh he sure is amazing." Quinn remarks with her teeth still gritted together.

"Hey guys."

We all turn around and see Kyle standing behind the couch looking down at the three of us. "Sorry I'm late. But Puck was trying to learn one of the new songs and then he wouldn't shut up for the longest time about some chick you guys know from…"

"SOOOO Kyle." I say cutting him off before he starts talking about Quinn who I'm sure Puck was going on and on about. "This is Quinn."

"Uh, oh hi." He says walking around the couch and extending his arm to Quinn.

"Hi." She says coldly staring down at his hand before turning to look at me. "Finn can I, um talk to you for just a second."

I look over at Rachel and she winks at me. I lean over and kiss her cheek and stand up. "Sure. I guess."

When I get to the other side of the room Quinn grabs me by the jacket. "I uh thought you weren't bringing Rachel."

"I never said that, I said she had a show." I say smiling. "But she was home when I got there so I figured you would want to see her and catch up with her too. I know you and Rachel didn't always get along but since you just wanted to catch up, I figure it couldn't hurt to bring her."

"But I kinda wanted it to just be you and I." She says leaning up against me.

"Uh, yeah well that would have been weird considering I'm living with Rachel." I shrug and head back to the couch.

"Everything ok?" Rachel asks as I sit back down beside her.

"Wonderful." I say as I kiss her nose.

"So where to?" Rachel says looking around at everyone.

"Kyle what do you think? We want to show Quinn around New York."

"Uh, well we could walk around the park right now. It's really nice there." He says looking over at Rachel and smiling. Jerk. He totally knows that's Rachel's favorite place to go.

"Sounds great. The park is just beautiful at night. You'll love it Quinn." Rachel giggles as she jumps up and grabs my hand. We head to the car and Rachel jumps in the passenger seat as Quinn reluctantly gets in the back with Kyle.

"So Quinn, why don't you tell Kyle all about yourself." Rachel beams from the seat beside me.

"Um what?" Quinn complains.

"Well we will have some traffic on the drive so it will pass the time." She chuckles.

"Oh um, well I went to school with Finn."

"And me." Rachel interrupts.

I see Quinn roll her eyes in the rear view mirror and I chuckle to myself.

"Yes and Rachel. But I mostly knew Finn since he was my boyfriend."

"I thought Rachel and Finn dated in high school." Kyle says confused.

"Oh we did Kyle. It's all quite complicated." Rachel says looking back at him.

"Not really. I dated Finn and then Rachel wanted him." I hear Quinn say and I brace myself in the seat for Rachel's reply.

"Well I don't exactly remember it being that simple Quinn." Rachel says turning around and facing the front.

"I dated Quinn my sophomore year." I say to Kyle.

"And Junior year." She adds.

"Yes Quinn I forgot about Junior year." I joke.

"Wow so wait, you dated Quinn in 10th grade and Rachel in 10th grade. And then Quinn again in 11th grade." Kyle says shaking his head.

"Actually it was Quinn then me in 10th grade, then me, then Quinn, then back to me in 11th grade. Wow Finn you were quite confused weren't you." Rachel laughs beside me.

"Yeah but I figured it all out by 12th grade didn't I." I grab her hand and kiss the top of it.

I hear Quinn let out a disgusted sigh in the back seat and look back to see her staring out the window.

We park and climb out of the car to walk toward the park. I wrap my arm around Rachel's shoulder and quickly leave Kyle and Quinn behind as Rachel and I stroll through the walkways.

"So do you think she's gotten the point?" I whisper to Rachel.

"I think she's kind of angry actually." She laughs.

We both look back at Kyle and Quinn behind us. They are talking and Quinn is waving her arms around.

"Woah that's bad. It's scary Quinn. Poor Kyle."

"Yeah she doesn't do that unless she's really angry." Rachel says quickly turning back around. "And don't even start with the poor Kyle. You totally invited him to get him back at him for liking me."

"WHAT?" I say acting surprised.

"Don't go there Hudson. You can't hide things from me. If you wanted to just piss Quinn off you would have brought Noah."

"Ok fine. It's payback for both of them."

"Oh ice cream. I feel like sherbet." Rachel says running off toward the cart.

"Hey guys, we are going to get some ice cream. Want any?"

"Oh thank you Finn." Quinn says walking up and taking my arm. I look down at her arm and then back up at her. I pull my arm from her reaching for my wallet and walk over to Rachel.

"Hey." I say to the vendor as I pay for Rachel's sherbet. She hands me a cone and I look back at Quinn and Kyle. "What do you guys want?"

"Anything cold will do, it's already like ice around here." Kyle says looking over at me and then gesturing with his head toward Quinn. It takes everything I have not to burst into laughter.

I finish paying and we all walk over toward one of the tables under a tree. "Finn and I come here every day almost for lunch. Well not here, but somewhere that way." She says pointing off in the distance.

"It's our home away from home." I smile over at Rachel.

"Yeah but it's not home." Quinn says annoyed.

"It is for us." Rachel sighs.

"Yeah, honestly I never thought I could be happy outside of Lima. But New York is totally my home now."

"You mean you are never coming back." Quinn says quickly.

"Why would I?" I ask confused. "I have everything I have ever wanted right here. Did you know I'm going to be a teacher?"

Quinn starts laughing and Rachel clears her throat. "What was funny about that?"

"Well it was a joke right?" Quinn says staring at both of us. "I mean Finn a teacher? That's a stretch right?"

"Actually I am working at becoming a music teacher. I teach a group of fourth graders right now. I'm pretty good actually."

"Wait, seriously?" She says shocked.

"Yes, he's an amazing teacher." Rachel says as I feel her hand rub against my shoulder.

"Well you always did believe in me babe." I grin down at her.

"And I always will." She smiles and I lean over to kiss her.

"Yeah they do that all the time, mid conversation actually." Kyle jokes as Rachel and I break apart.

"Wonderful." Quinn says looking around the park.

"So Quinn what do you do?" Kyle asks her.

Quinn rolls her eyes. "I do hair. It's therapeutic for me. But I'm probably taking over for Sue at the school next year."

"You are going to captain the cheerios?" I ask her. That totally sounds like something she would do.

"Yes. I've kept in close contact with her and I never should have quit the cheerios all those years ago. It was stupid and there was no point to it."

"Oh Well, good for you then." I say grabbing Rachel's hand and walking down the path.

"You wanna take them back to the house?" I whisper.

"Finn, now you are just being mean."

"What? Maybe Kurt wants to see her."

"I highly doubt that." Rachel laughs.

"So," I say turning around. "Do you guys want to go back to the loft?"

"Loft?" Quinn asks.

"Um our apartment."

"Oh sure, let's see this place." She smiles.

We all head back to the car and drive back to the loft. I see Puck and Sam's van parked on the street. Oh boy, this will be interesting.

"You have to walk all these stairs every day? That must be a pain." Quinn complains as we climb the stairs.

"Nah, it's ok. It's like exercise to keep us in shape. The fire escape's pretty cool too." I say winking at Rachel as she bursts out into laughter.

We open the door and everyone is in the game room playing on the Xbox. "There you two are, didn't think you would actually be this long considering…."Kurt starts talking and then sees Quinn enter the room. "Oh hi Quinn."

"Hey Kurt." She says looking around. "Oh didn't think you would all be here. Don't you have homes or something."

Everyone laughs. "Yeah but we all hang out up here a lot." Sam says staring at the TV screen.

"How lucky for you." She rolls her eyes.

"Does anyone want anything to drink?" Rachel asks as she walks toward the kitchen.

"I'll help you babe." I say following her into the kitchen.

"I don't think she likes being here." Rachel says looking out the doorway at Quinn.

"Holy crap, I get it Hudson, you hate me." Kyle says walking into the kitchen.

"Excuse me?"

"That girl! Oh my God, is that my punishment for walking in on Rachel?"

Rachel bursts into laughter. "I told you I was dangerous to your health."

"Yeah but this is just cruel. She hasn't stopped talking about how you two were in love until Rachel came and stole you away and how one day you will see that you two are meant to be together. Seriously, this girl is trouble."

"And I thought bringing her out here would make her see how happy I actually am."

"Yeah to a rational person. I don't know about that girl. Just please I promise, I'll picture Rachel with clothes on for the rest of my life, just get me away from her."

Rachels bursts into laughter and then stops. "Wait, you mean you haven't been picturing me with clothes on until now?"

"Uh, wait. Um." Kyle says trying to cover for himself but she slaps him on the arm and walks out of the room.

"Dude how did you date that girl?" Kyle asks as Rachel leaves.

"Hey I was young and didn't know any better. Quinn can be nice. She just doesn't give up easily."

"Yeah really, didn't notice."

"Um excuse me, Finn?" Quinn says poking her head in the door.

Kyle quickly excuses himself and Quinn comes into the kitchen. "Yeah?"

"I think I'm going to call a cab. Do you want to walk me down?"

"Uh sure." I set down the drinks I had made and walk her to the door. Everyone says goodbye and Rachel half-heartedly waves in her direction.

"So you seem happy." She says as we walk to the sidewalk.

"You thought I wouldn't be?"

"Well it's just that this was never you. New York. It was always Rachel's dream. You were never meant for this."

"People always say that like Rachel's dreams were bigger than me or something. I don't get that. Like I'm not allowed to dream or something."

"I didn't say that it's just people like you and I never get out."

"I'm sorry you feel that way Quinn. You can always get out; you just have to want it. And I did. I wanted it. And Rachel helped me learn how to dream and now I'm doing it. I'm living everything I never thought I could do."

"You could have done that with me too." She says quietly.

"No I couldn't have Quinn. You and me, we just didn't work. We only tore each other down. We were destined for different things."

"NO. You just chose to ignore your feelings for me. Because of her."

"Quinn, I don't have any feelings for you beyond memories. I'm sorry."

"That's not true. You and me, we were our first love. That doesn't just go away."

"No it doesn't, and I will always have that memory Quinn, but that's all it is now. I love Rachel and I will always love her. This is my life now. I could never go back to Lima. I feel free somehow."

"You can't be free, you are stuck with her."

"I'm free because of her Quinn."

"What does she have that I don't Finn?" She says and I see the tears fall from her face.

"She has my heart. She has from the day I heard her sing."

She looks at the ground and frowns. "I never stood a chance did I?"

"I'm sorry about how everything happened in high school. I really am. I never meant to hurt you. But I made my choices and this is where they lead me. You need to start making some choices of your own."

She looks up at me and frowns but after a few seconds she starts smiling again and honestly the look on her face scares me. "I know that you think this is what you want. But one day when Rachel is famous, you are going to be alone. And I am going to be waiting for you."

She leans up and tries to pull my mouth to hers but I quickly turn my head so that her lips connect with my cheek.

The cab pulls up and I open her door for her. "It was nice seeing you Quinn. I hope you find what you are looking for one day." I slam the door as she starts to speak and bang on the top of the cab as I turn to walk away.

When I get upstairs Rachel is sitting at the couch with Kurt and I quickly sit down beside her and pull her face to mine, cupping her face in my hands. "I love you so much."

She smiles. "I love you too. How did it go?"

"She's still determined one day I'm going to be miserable and alone and somehow think of her." I groan as I throw myself back on the couch.

"Do you think that day will ever come?" She asks.

I pull my head back off the couch. "Never. I made my choice. And for the first time in my life, I made the right one. I'll never regret that."

"Good." She says leaning her head on my shoulder and turning the volume back up. "We were just getting ready to watch a movie. Wanna join?"

"Sure what are we watching?"

"Some movie the boys were saying was too scary for us to watch. No one tells me that I can't watch something." She says crossing her arms and pressing play.

The movie starts and I look over at her shocked. "Babe, you don't want to watch this. Seriously, you'll be up all night."

"Not you too." She says angrily.

"Baby, it's really going to scare you."

"Well that's why you are here." She says wrapping her arm around mine and leaning in closer. She leans in to my ear and whispers. "And if I'm up all night, you'll just have to keep me entertained and get my mind off of it."

"Ok let's get this movie started!" I shout and Kurt rolls his eyes.

I look down at her beautiful brown eyes and smiling face as she turns back to the movie and smile. This is my life, this is where I belong, and For once in my life I feel like I got something right.


	43. Chapter 43

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 43**

**Kurt POV**

_Hey mom and dad,_

_I haven't written in a while so I thought I would sit down and send this email to you. Getting through our freshman year of college was definitely a challenge, for some more than others. Haha. Just kidding, Finn's fine, mom. Things have been crazy since Sam and Puck got here a few months ago. Probably why I haven't written in a while. (Sorry about that.) _

_The boys band is really picking up since I started running their website. They still don't have a manager but Puck is doing a great job stepping up as one. He's made it his job to hit the pavement and get the band's name out there. His charm with the ladies really seems to work too (Though I really don't understand it cuz he's actually quite the moron.) But they seem to like it and he gets the band's posters put up in all the shop windows of the female owners. The guys aren't too bad with him either though. He really knows how to talk people up. So because of that he's gotten the guys a lot of small gigs. Openings of shops, small festivals, stuff like that. They are playing at Six Flags in a weekend. And they are trying to find an independent studio to make a record but they have to raise the money first. They are getting close to at least recording a demo soon. I know they really are excited about it._

_Sam is doing great at NYU. The guy is really smart. He's definitely good at managing the finances for the band since he keeps everyone in line. He even stops Puck from taking all their cash to buy __beer __soda after all the gigs. He met a really nice girl at school and if he can keep Puck away from her I think this one might last longer than a month this time._

_Blaine is really really happy with his new mentor at the firm. He worked on his first case and they actually won. I was really proud of him. I know how unhappy he was with the last guy so I'm glad this girl is working out for him. She's a really tough attorney and she doesn't let down at all. Blaine feels like he's actually learning something from her so that's good._

_Rachel is doing amazing. She didn't get in to Julliard this year. I was kind of bummed about that. But she is taking it really well. In fact the director at her school thinks she can actually do better in the advanced programs at their conservatory than she would at Julliard anyway. She's at the top of her class of course. We are still doing "Awesome 80's prom" We both got promoted to main cast this year. It's really exciting. We are learning so much and I love being able to do this with my best friend. I moved back into the loft of course now that I'm no longer a freshman. (I forgot how annoying it was to live with Finn. He eats like a horse! It's really quite awful. I swear if he didn't have Rachel he would probably just eat right out of the containers) But I like being back with everyone instead of separated at school. And Rachel is still doing a really good job of taking care of all of us. No worries mom, she feeds us well._

_Finn is surprisingly an amazing teacher. Those kids adore him. You would swell with pride if you saw him with them mom. It's amazing how much they listen to him. And how much he makes sense when he talks to them. I think it's cuz he's talking to kids and he's practically one himself so it works. (Kidding, kind of) His instructor put him in full time education classes this semester. Of all the people in our class I never would have pictured Finn as the one who would be an educator. Weird right? He and Rachel are still highly annoying. They adopted this turtle and called him Mike cuz Finn can't spell, but they act like it's a real kid. I'm embarrassed for them. They took the thing to the park the other day on a leash. A LEASH! And they walked it VERY SLOWLY through the grass. God help them if they ever have children. NOT THAT ANYONE IS PREGNANT! I'm just saying, God help them when it happens._

_I guess that just leaves me and I'm just enjoying life at school. I'm fitting in really good this year. Sure there are a few idiots in my class, but there always will be, they outnumber us 3 to 1. You really should come see the city. Maybe you could come here for Christmas and let us make you a real meal. I'm sure Finn and Rachel would be happy to give up their room for you guys to stay with us. I would love for you guys to see one of our shows. Dad you would love dressing up and pretending you can dance, like you used to when I was a kid. And the boys would love for you to come to one of their gigs. They won't admit it cuz having your parents show up when girls are screaming and throwing their bras on stage is kind of humiliating, but hey I'm willing to risk it._

_Well I gotta get going, Finn is screaming about burning down the house or something. Not really, well he is screaming "The house is freaking going to burn down." But I'm sure he's just exaggerating like usual when Rachel makes him eat something he doesn't like. Write back soon. We all miss you._

_Love, Kurt_

"Dude I'm serious, if you cook that it's going to burn the whole house down."

"Finn you are being ridiculous. Seriously! It's tofu, it's not even flammable."

I walk in as I see Finn holding a plate of tofu above Rachel's head. "Wow, you know I told your mom that you were probably just screaming because Rachel was trying to make something you don't like. I know you too well brother."

"Dude look at it. It's like fluffy white pillows of death!" Finn complains holding the plate up to my face.

"Finn Hudson give me that plate right now! Or else!"

"OOOH she gave you the 'or else' line Hudson, you better do what she says or your balls are gone." Puck yells from the living room.

"Rach, why do you insist on feeding me this stuff? You know it gives me heartburn." Finn whines.

"No, the four slices of pizza you eat after you eat the tofu when you think I've gone to bed is what gives you heartburn." Rachel says as she grabs the plate from Finn and puts the tofu into the stir-fry pan. Finn pouts and walks out of the kitchen.

"So were you talking to Carole?" Rachel asks.

"I emailed her. I told them they need to come here for Christmas. It could be fun us making them a nice dinner. Don't you think?"

"Oh that would be awesome. Maybe I can get my dad's to come down too."

"We can make the living room into the dining room for the night. I would love it if they could come to a show or something."

"Why are we eating in the living room?" Finn asks as he walks back in the kitchen.

"I was telling Rachel that I asked mom and dad to come here for Christmas and Rachel and I can cook for everyone."

"What?" He says swinging around quickly to face me. "You mean no Christmas turkey from mom? Tofu turkey?" He whimpers.

"You are such a baby." Rachel complains. "Mikey totally likes tofu." She giggles and leans over to drop a piece of tofu into the small cage on the counter with the turtle lying on the log."

"Don't feed him that Rach. It's bad for him. Do you want to be the reason our first kid dies? And don't call him Mikey, he's not a baby anymore."

"God it's a turtle you two. It's not a freaking kid."

"Shut up Kurt. You are offending Mike!" Finn shouts as he leans over and pulls the tofu back out of the cage.

"So wait, what did mom say?"

"I don't know Finn, I can't read her mind. I sent her an email."

"Oh."

"Well I think it would be really nice if they came. They could stay here if they want." Rachel smiles at me.

"Yeah I offered them your room."

"WHAT?" Finn yells. "They can't sleep in there; I've had sex in that bed. My mother can most certainly not sleep on a bed I've had sex in."

"So you would rather they just listened to you have sex from the living room couch?"

"Gross Kurt what the hell is the matter with you?" Finn says throwing his arms up and walking back out of the room.

"God he's so easy to get rid of." I laugh.

She giggles as she stirs the tofu with the veggies and I have to admit as much as I despise tofu too, Rachel has actually learned to do some pretty delicious thing with it. Who would have thought Rachel would be our cook considering that time she tried to cook in the cabin and the place pretty much exploded?

"Dinner is almost ready boys." Rachel yells.

I quickly get the plates out and set the table as everyone gathers around to eat.

"Finn wasn't lying; it really is the white stuff." Puck whispers as he sits down to the table.

"Enough about the tofu. It would do all of you some good to eat better." Rachel sets the bowl down in the middle of the table and Blaine quickly grabs a spoon and dishes out.

"I think your tofu is quite lovely Rachel." Blaine says filling his plate.

"Kiss ass." Finn says jabbing him in the side and then looks up to see Rachel staring at him disapprovingly. "Sorry baby, I'm sure it's wonderful." Rachel turns around and Finn frowns as he stares at the bowl.

"I can feel that frown Finn. It cuts right to the heart." Rachel says still facing away from him.

Finn leans over to me and whispers. "How does she do that?"

"It's a gift Finn." I laugh as Rachel sits down next to him and quickly dishes out a big scoop of tofu delight onto his plate.

"Yay." He grins at her as he pokes at his food.

"So what are we all doing this weekend?" Blaine asks.

"Besides rehearsals?" Pucks says with his mouth stuffed.

"For someone who hates tofu you sure have gotten enough of it in your mouth!" I say with disgust.

"Wha?" he says shrugging.

"Rachel and I have three shows this weekend. It's going to be crazy busy."

"You guys are going to be off for our show though right? I was kind of hoping we could ride some rides afterwards." Finn says getting excited.

"Yeah we asked for that weekend off. We're definitely going. Did you guys book the hotel yet?"

"I did." Sam says reaching for some papers behind me. "It's right outside the park. I can't believe we are playing at Six Flags."

"Yeah nice job getting the gig man." Finn says patting Puck on the shoulder.

"Yeah this girl's dad works for the entertainment staff at the park. I totally told her I would take her on a date if she got us in. Now maybe I can get in, if you know what I mean." He winks.

"Gross. Not at the dinner table Noah!" Rachel groans.

"You love it!" He jokes back.

After dinner the boys set to scheming about how to order pizza without Rachel noticing while Rachel pretends she doesn't hear them as she reads her book on the couch.

"You know he's going to be sick tonight right?" I laugh as I sit down with Blaine across from her.

"Yes well, don't count on it." She laughs. "Finny baby." She shouts.

"Yeah." He says walking into the room looking guilty.

"I think Mikey is tired, can you take him back to the bedroom?" She asks sweetly.

"Sure babe. Are you going to bed?" He asks hopeful.

"I think I am. I set my new Pj's out on the dresser, can you move them before you put the cage down?"

"Uh sure." He says as he walks away.

"Ok guys, don't you have your own homes to go to?" Rachel says getting up from the couch.

"Uh but Finn says we are going to play a game tonight. I thought you were going to bed anyway?" Puck pouts.

"Oh I don't think Finn will be playing tonight." She giggles as she walks back to the living room. Blaine and I look at each other confused.

Finn comes out of the bedroom looking back at the room as he walks.

"Yo Finneh! Let's play!" Puck shouts.

"Not tonight boys. I uh, I'm feeling really tired." He stretches and yawns loudly. Rachel looks over at me and shrugs her shoulders as she winks.

"What, but I thought we were going to do that thing and play that game that orders that thing." Puck moans.

"You're on your own buddy!" He says grabbing Rachel by the hand and yanking her toward the bedroom.

"What the hell man?" Puck says to Sam.

"I guess he's not hungry." Sam says getting up from the floor.

"Oh he's hungry for something." I laugh. "But I think leather and lace wins over peperoni and cheese every time."


	44. Chapter 44

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 44**

**Rachel POV**

"And then what do you do?"

"We hit the cymbal with our right stick." The class says in unison.

"Great!" Finn cheers as all the kids start banging out the beat they just learned. I smile watching him with one of the smaller boys up front. He's so good with the kids. It just makes my heart do these weird flip flop things when he is with them. He usually teaches the older kids, but this month his teacher wanted him to try a younger audience too. I try to come and watch him when I don't have class. I sit outside the glass doors and just observe. He's so beautiful to me. Sure I want Broadway and a career, but I can totally see myself having children with Finn one day. I'm sure he would be a great dad. I'm still not sure of my abilities of being a mom. Sure Finn tells me what a great mom I am to Mikey, but he's a freaking turtle. As much as I want to think that remembering to feed a turtle is the same thing as feeding a baby, it's just not. But Finn makes me almost think I could be alright at it.

Finn looks out the door and sees me watching him. "Ok class, everyone wave to Miss Rachel." He says as the class turns and smiles brightly as they all wave at me. I quickly wave back grinning madly at all the faces as Finn returns to finishing his lesson. When the bell rings the kids run out of the classroom screaming goodbye to Finn. One of the boys stops as he exits the room.

"Hi Miss Rachel."

"Hi there Timmy"

"Miss Rachel, are you Mr. Finn's wife?" I feel myself blush as Finn walks out of the room watching us.

"Oh no, I'm not his wife Timmy."

"Good." He grins.

"Oh." I say surprised.

"Now you can be my wife." He says as he quickly turns and runs down the hall.

"Looks like someone has a crush." Finn laughs.

"I guess that happens with second graders." I smirk.

"I wasn't talking about him."

"Well I always did have a thing for cute drummers." I giggle as Finn walks over and places a light kiss on my lips.

"Oh yeah? I might know one of those." He says as he lifts me off the ground.

"Not in front of the kids Finn." I slap him on the arm and he drops my feet back down to the floor laughing.

"Rach, these kids see worse on television every night."

"Well that is no excuse for us to poison their minds." I grab his hand and walk toward the exit of the school.

"Yes, because love is so poisonous to kids babe." He laughs.

"Ok fine, but love and you shoving your tongue down my throat are definitely two different things."

"But I LOVE shoving my tongue down your throat Rach."

"You are being impossible." I giggle.

We get to the car and drive toward home. I look over at Finn as he's concentrating on all the traffic and just take him in. Everything about him is perfect to me. The way his hair is always messy, the freckles I have counted and traced a million times, the adorable way he smiles with half his mouth when he really likes something. "You're going to be a great dad." I say quietly as I stare at him.

He looks over at me quickly. "What? You aren't…Oh my God are you pregnant?" The car swerves to the right and I grab the steering wheel before he causes an accident.

"No I'm not pregnant. Oh my God Finn!"

"Oh thank God. I had flashbacks to high school and almost blacked out."

Suddenly I can't stop laughing. It actually hurts my sides as I try and stop the laughter but it's still coming. "Yeah that's so funny babe. Seriously, I'm glad you can have fun at my expense."

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you should have seen your face."

"I'll be honest the only thing going through my mind right then was the fact that we just went to that pool a few weeks ago and you finally got me into that hot tub for the first time in years. I swear, I hate those things!"

"Oh God." The laughter just doesn't stop and he pouts as I hold my hand to my mouth. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." I say between sobs.

"Yeah well don't do that to me again." He takes a huge breath.

"All I was saying is that I think you will be a great dad. The way you are with those kids is so natural."

"Really? Cuz I always feel so weird talking to them. I never had a dad until Burt came along. I'm always afraid I'll say something wrong and one of them will kick me in the shin."

"Well that's how I feel about being a mom. I never had a mom until Carole."

"Well then I guess we will learn together." He smiles over at me and grabs my hand and kisses it.

"You really think so? Like one day you and I could have kids and stuff?"

"Of course I think so Rach. I totally wanna do that with you. I think we should be like married and stuff first before we do that cuz that whole unwed pregnancy thing is a nightmare."

"You know we've never talked about this before really."

"Yeah I know. Doesn't mean I haven't thought about it." He pinches his lips together and then grins as he looks back in the rear view mirror.

I grin to myself as he pulls in to the parking spot. We climb the stairs to the apartment hand in hand as I think about just how perfect my life is. I had no idea that was about to change. When we got into the apartment I could feel immediately that something was wrong.

"Oh uh, hey guys." Kurt says quickly jumping off the couch trying to find the remote.

"Hey. What are you watching gay porn or something?" Finn asks as he walks over behind the couch and his face falls as he faces the television.

"What is it?" I ask walking over to him and he quickly grabs me by the shoulders, and I look over at the television to see the screen paused on a picture of Finn and a girl I don't recognize. "What is that?" I say pointing to the TV.

"It's just a gossip thing." Kurt says fumbling with the remote.

"Turn it on." I shout.

"What did it say?" Finn asks Blaine.

"Dude, it's not good." He says looking down.

I grab the remote out of Kurt's hand and hit play.

_Tonight's caught on camera:_

_The band One Night Stand is coming on strong again. Set to play at Six Flags next weekend and we caught one of the members on tape this week. Sexy drummer Finn Hudson was seen hanging out with an unknown girl at one of the music festivals. The two seemed pretty cozy as they talked and flirted. It appeared they may have exchanged phone numbers as Finn's phone was a big topic of conversation between the two._

_Does this mean he is back on the outs with longtime and local girlfriend Rachel? She has been starring in the off Broadway production of Awesome 80's Prom and seems to be taking off big herself. Perhaps finding your dreams means giving up some of your old ones._

Suddenly I can't feel my feet, but I know that I'm walking. I know that I have the keys in my hand and I can feel my legs moving toward the car. I can barely make out the sound of someone yelling at me from above me. I know I hear my name but I can't make my legs stop. I just need to get out of there. I need to get away.

I don't know how long I drive, but somehow I end up at the park. I always end up at the park. I find myself floating, because I have no other words for how I end up sitting under our tree but I am. Just sitting there staring out at the pond.

"An unknown girl…the two seemed pretty cozy…..exchanged phone numbers….." I can feel the tears falling from my face as I repeat it in my head. Over and over. I never even looked at his face. Not once. I don't know why. I saw him on the television and it just hurt. Seeing him with that girl. I don't even know who she was. Was she tall? Did she have blonde hair or brown? Was she pretty? Of course she was pretty. He's Finn. I don't even know why he's with someone like me to start with.

I lie back in the grass and stare up at the sky. The clouds are still out and I can see them as the sun is going down in the distance. I can't find any shapes today. Just grey clouds. Grey, lifeless, boring clouds. I feel my cheeks with my hand and wipe away the tears as they fall. Would Finn cheat on me? He's never cheated on me. Not once.

But would he? Did I do anything that angered him recently? I mean I know he doesn't like the tofu and he gets angry when I clean up when he's trying to sleep. Did I say something? Who am I kidding, I always say something. Maybe it's just my personality that drives him crazy.

But he's Finn. Finn wouldn't cheat on me. He loves me. I close my eyes and remember his face today in the car. Those adorable dimples on his face as he smiles and the way he throws his head back when he laughs. Finn wouldn't do this.

I feel my phone buzz in my pocket and sit up. I look over and see the ice cream truck and quickly walk over to buy a sherbet.

"That'll be $4.50 Miss." I look down to grab my money and realize that I didn't bring my purse.

"Oh no." I say as the tears fall from my face. "I'm sorry I forgot my purse." I hand him back the sherbet but he pushes it back at me.

"You need this more than I need the cash ma'am." He smiles and hands me a napkin.

"Thank you." I say softly as I walk over to the bench behind him and sit down. I remember my phone and reach into my pocket and pull it out. Five missed texts. I open my phone and start reading.

'_Rach, where R U? F'_

'_Seriously babe, come home. F'_

'_Rachel, tell me where U went. K'_

"_Rach, I'm worried. Talk 2 me. F'_

'_Rach please, it's not true. Come home. F'_

I close the phone and look back up at the sky staring down at me. The clouds are getting darker and I can feel a light sprinkle on my face."

"It's gonna rain ma'am, you might want to get inside." The ice cream vendor says as he closes up.

But I sit there as I feel the light drops slowly turn to a drizzle and I smile as I think of Finn. He always loves it most before it starts raining. I finish my sherbet and throw away my trash. The rain is starting to come down but instead of walking to the car I find myself walking toward the bridge. The water hitting my face mixes with my tears and for some reason it feels almost like it's washing away all the pain I am feeling and I just keep waiting for it to make everything right again.

My phone buzzes in my pocket again and I pull it out and shield it from the rain as I read the message.

'_Stay where U R. I'm coming to get U. F"_

I shake my head and laugh as I think about Finn running around the city trying to find me. So I keep walking even as my clothes continue to get heavy from the rain and I feel my body shiver but can't find it in me to feel cold. Because I feel nothing right now. And I realize that I'm less worried about Finn being with another girl than I am about him not being with me anymore. I don't know how to be without Finn anymore. I don't know how to be lonely again. And I feel myself begging the wind or the stars or the universe for him not to leave me.

On the wind I can hear his voice and it's almost like an answer from the universe. I can hear him calling my name, I swear I hear it. And it keeps getting louder and louder until it's screaming in my head and I turn around and I see him. He's standing at the end of the bridge. He's clothes are soaked and the sadness in his eyes breaks my heart. But I can't move. I can't feel my feet. I just stand there and stare at him. He moves before I can as he crosses the bridge to reach me.

"I knew I'd find you." He whispers.

I stare at him, lost.

"Rach, please, you have to believe me I didn't do anything. That girl. That girl was just talking to me."

I swallow but my eyes never leave his and I feel paralyzed just standing there.

"Baby, please talk to me. Please. I can't lose you."

"Are you cheating on me?" I hear the words leave my mouth without my brain even comprehending what I've said. He steps back like he's been slapped and yet my hand never left my side.

"N..No. I couldn't. I wouldn't."

"Who is she?"

"I don't even remember her name. We talked for maybe five minutes about the band."

I nod my head because I don't even know what to say. I don't know what to feel except for the aching coldness in my chest and I can't tell if it's from the rain or the pain in my heart.

"I swear to you. Nothing happened. I woul….Rach you mean everything to me. Don't leave me."

"They said you exchanged numbers." I say coldly and he takes the two steps toward me tossing his phone into my hand.

"Check it."

I push the phone back toward him.

"No check it. I never gave anyone my number and I sure never accepted any number. I showed her some pictures on my phone. That's all I did."

I look down at the phone in my hand, the water pooling on the screen. I blink and quickly cover up the phone from the storm. I hold it close to my heart and I don't know if I'm protecting it or that it just feels good to hold something in my hands. I look back up and meet his eyes.

"Rachel, please. You're everything I have. When you left and I couldn't find you. I…I felt…."

"Numb." I say completing his sentence.

"Yeah. Like nothing was right. I need you Rachel. I would never screw this up."

"Well you did." I yell and he squeezes his eyes shut. "And I don't even know who I'm mad at right now." I take the last step between us and grab him by the jacket. "I don't know if I'm madder at you, or that stupid girl, or those asshole people who try and make everything you do worse than it ever is. But most of all I'm just mad at me. I'm mad at myself for even thinking I could keep someone like you." I don't even notice that I'm pounding my fists into his chest as I yell louder and louder against the storm.

"Stop it. Just fucking stop it." He yells grabbing me by the wrists. "YOU are the only person who could keep me. Stop being down on yourself. I'm not some great prize Rachel. I'm not perfect, but I keep trying to be for you. I love you. YOU! Every freaking thing you do I love down to that crazy ass tofu you cook me. I love that you make me eat that crap because you want to take care of me. Or that you make me call my mom every Sunday morning even when I'm trying to sleep because a mom needs to know her son still thinks about her. Or the fact that you leave a cupcake on my dresser with a candle on it for my dad's birthday every single year even though we don't talk about it. I love that you have all these crazy dreams in your head and that no one will stop you from making every single one of them come true. YOU are the only woman I see Rachel. These other girls, they're just there. But you, you are everything. You are my beginning and end and I refuse to just let that go without a fight."

When I look up our eyes meet and I can't see much beyond the rain falling on my face and the tears pouring from my eyes but I know that what I see in his eyes is bright enough to shine through the storm raging around us. And I know that I need him. No matter what. Because he is perfect to me. And I don't know how I ever thought he could cheat on me. It's not in his eyes. And before I know it we are in each other's arms and the rain is soaking us to the bone but when our lips meet the warmth travels straight to my heart as I feel his arms tighten around me and nothing else matters but this moment.

"Finn, I'm so sorry I ran." I kiss his lips, his cheek, his nose; I want to feel the warmth that fills me with every touch of his skin.

"No baby this is my fault. I should have known that they would make that whole thing look wrong. I was stupid." He says returning the assault on his face with his own attack on my neck, his warm mouth giving me shivers.

"No you were just talking." Our lips meet again as my hands caress his cheeks.

"I swear I won't talk to another woman as long as I live, just don't leave me."

I pull back and look into his eyes. "Baby I'm not going anywhere." I feel my arms shiver and I lean into him.

"We gotta get you home. You're freezing." He takes off his wet jacket and drapes it over my shoulders. "I know it's wet but just keep it on til we get to the car."

"How did you get here?"

"I just ran out and got a cab. I knew you would be here." He puts his arm around my shoulder and leads me back toward the car. "I saw the car and I knew you were here."

"Somehow I knew you would come and find me."

"I will always find you Rachel."

We drive back to the loft in silence but his hand never leaves mine. And when we finally get to the apartment, the lights are off and he leads me quickly back to the bedroom.

"Come here." He says into my ear as he pulls me backwards against him and removes his jacket from my shoulders. "You're going to catch cold baby." He places his mouth against the back of my neck and slowly trails a kiss against my skin until he reaches my shoulder. His hands slowly make their way to the hem of my wet t-shirt as his fingers pinch the fabric and he peels the shirt up my chest and over my head, holding the shirt and my arms above my head as he places kisses on my neck until the shirt is free from my hands and discarded on the floor. I turn around and face him and I've never seen him look at me like this before. I can't even describe it but I can feel it. I can feel it under my skin when he touches me, or in the way it makes me breath harder just from catching his eye. I grab his shirt and yank it up as he helps me pull the heavy fabric from his body and he tosses it quickly with the rest of the clothes as my hands fumble with the zipper on his jeans.

His hands are on each side of my face as he pulls me toward him, kissing me hard and I swear I see stars when his tongue attacks my mouth and he pushes me backwards toward the bed. I groan when the zipper won't budge and he quickly undoes it and shoves his pants toward the ground, his mouth never leaving mine as I try and undo my own stubborn zipper. I feel a desperate need to feel his skin on mine. I'm shivering from the cold but my body feels like it's on fire.

As if he heard my own thoughts he lays me back onto the bed and I moan at the contact of his skin against my chest as he uses his hands to remove the straps on my bra from my shoulders, kissing each shoulder as he slides them down my arm.

"Love me Finn." I moan in his ear.

"Always." Is his only reply as I feel his hands on my hips and our bodies connect as one.


	45. Chapter 45

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 45**

**Blaine POV**

"I'm so going to ride that coaster."

"No way are you getting me on it." Kurt complains to Finn from the back seat of the van.

"What? Come on Kurt. It will be like senior year."

"YEAH! And I threw up the whole day while you guys laughed at me."

I look back at him in the rear view mirror and smirk. Kurt never could handle the thrill rides.

"Well I'm going. I freaking love roller coasters."

"Yeah I remember. You didn't stop talking about how it was more exciting than sex for hours." Finn pouts as Rachel leans over and kisses his cheek.

"Hey I said ALMOST better than sex."

Finn sits up and smiles at her as he leans over and kisses her.

"NO WAY! Not in the van." Kurt whines.

"Dude leave them alone, I love watching them make out."

Sam and I both turn back to glare at Puck in the far back of the van who is staring at Finn and Rachel who have now stopped kissing and are also staring him down.

"What the hell dude?" Finn shouts.

"What? It's like having a free porn channel. Only without the actual nudity and sex. What do I gotta do to upgrade my viewership?" He winks at Finn.

"DUDE! I'll kick your ass." Finn leans back over his seat and punches Puck in the arm and before long it becomes a brawl as the two of them wrestle while Rachel and Kurt try and break the two boys up.

"Jesus! How old are you losers?" Kyle smirks while grabbing Puck and yanking him backward in his seat.

"Ok relax you guys. We are almost there." I shout over all the commotion in the back.

"Dick."

"Asshat."

Finn and Puck trade insults as I pull the van into the parking lot. "Ok, so we need to get the gear and bring it around to gate two. We can leave it all there until set up. After we drop off the gear we all need to meet back around noon ok?"

"Yes dad." Everyone in back says in unison.

I roll my eyes and climb out of the van as Sam grabs the folder with all our information and we walk to the back gate.

"I swear we are the only adults in the group."

"Yeah well sometimes they act like morons." Sam laughs.

"Sometimes?" I joke.

We carry our gear and meet the manager out back and he has some guys come and get our instruments. "You need anything else?" He asks.

"Nope, I think we are good. We can do sound check at noon though right?"

"Yep, we'll have everything over at the stage by then. Go enjoy our park in the meantime." He gestures toward the door that leads out to the park.

"Let's do this!" Puck shouts as he runs toward the door.

"Ok seriously guys. Back by noon." I yell after them.

We walk out into the park and it's just opening up so it's practically empty. We opt to follow Puck toward the coasters as Kurt grips my hand in sheer panic.

"You don't have to ride sweetie." I lean over and whisper.

"And let them pick on me forever about being a wuss. Heck no." He laughs.

"Well don't say I didn't try and stop you. I know what you ate for breakfast and I don't really care to see it again."

"I'll be fine. That was years ago."

We get in line at the nearest coaster and I watch Puck and Finn jarring at the front of the line.

"Oh yeah well I bet you I could keep my hands up the whole ride." Finn says into Puck's face.

"Yeah well I can keep my hands up AND hold my breath!"

"Oh be my guest you idiot." Finn laughs as he turns away from him snickering.

"I'm riding with you." Rachel says quietly as she walks over to Sam and links her arm with his.

"You're not riding with Finn?"

"Do I look like I want to get in the middle of that love fest?" She giggles.

When it's our turn to board, Puck and Finn climb in the front, pushing each other to see who can get in the car first. Rachel and Sam roll their eyes as they climb in behind them. Kyle finds a pretty red head to ride with and doesn't seem too upset that he's on his own. As the train leaves the station and starts its climb I look over at Kurt.

"You ok?" I laugh as I see the color drained from his face and his eyes fixed on the top of the hill.

"No. Now stop talking to me."

I reach over and grab his hand. I can hear Finn and Puck screaming. "On three asshole, you better hold your breath!"

The ride is over before we know it and Kurt still looks pretty white but surprisingly he's not making a run for the trash can yet. However as we get out of the car, Puck and Finn both push past us quickly as they dodge people making their way to the exit and the nearest trash bin.

"Those idiots held their breath the whole time. I told them it was going to make them sick." Rachel says pushing past me and rushing over to Finn.

"Well looks like they can't make fun of you anymore." I joke with Kurt who still isn't really talking but nods in return.

We catch up to Finn, Rachel, and Puck who are laughing as they lean over the bins. "That was fucking epic dude." Puck cheers.

"I thought I was going to die. It was the most amazing thing ever." Finn chuckles.

"They liked it!" Rachel huffs as she blows out air and rolls her eyes. "Can you believe that?"

"You're surprised? You've known them longer than I have and even I knew they would come out of this asking for more." Sam jokes.

"Can we go on a calm ride now?" Kurt says finally speaking.

"And miss all of this?" Sam says pointing to the boys leaning over the bin.

"I wanna get wet!" Rachel yells. Finn stands up straight and looks over at Rachel.

"Baby, I can totally help you with that if you want to go somewhere."

"FINN! I mean with water!" She shouts.

"That doesn't sound nearly as fun!" He pouts.

Rachel grabs his hand and we head over to the raging river.

"Kyle are you coming?" I say looking back and see him still talking with the red head.

"Uh, I'll catch up with you guys at noon ok?" He says following the girl back onto the roller coaster.

"Looks like someone is getting over Rachel finally." Kurt laughs.

"How many?" The attendant asks.

"Uh 6." Puck says looking around.

"Boat 8." He says directing us to one of the round boats.

We all climb in and strap down. Rachel wraps her arms around Finn's arm and leans over with her feet in the middle.

"Babe, I thought you WANTED to get wet?"

"I do. But I don't want to fall out." She squeals.

"Jesus Berry, you aren't going to fall out." Puck snorts.

"Dude I hope your underwear get soaked and you whine all day." Finn shouts at him.

"I wouldn't talk about soaking your underwear Hudson." Puck begins to mimic Finn. "OH RACHEL….Shit mailman mailman!" Puck laughs pointing at Finn who tries to unstrap himself and launch at Puck.

"Sit down!" Rachel yells grabbing him by the shorts and pulling him back down into the seat.

We hit the rapids and water keeps pouring in from all sides as Kurt starts yelling about how much he paid for his shoes and hoping his designer jeans don't shrink from all the water.

We hit a huge dip as Rachel and Finn head down backwards into it and the water comes pouring over their seats drenching them to the bone. Rachel screams as the cold water hits them and Sam and Puck burst into laughter.

"Dude you look like a wet rat Hudson!"

"Fuck off." Finn yells as he shakes his head and dries the water from his face with the back of his hand.

The rest of the turns keep tossing water over onto me and Kurt until the only person dry in the boat is Puck.

"Yeah that's right! Even the rides don't mess with the Puckmeister!" Puck shouts as we round the last corner. His arms are in the air and he's chanting loudly 'Puck Puck Puck' "Can you hear the crowd cheering my name?"

"Dude, sometimes you just need to learn when to shut the hell up!" Finn says smugly as we push through the last waterfall leaving Puck sitting in a puddle of water.

"You were saying." Sam says dryly to Puck.

"Well that was fun. Thank God we have a few hours to dry off before we play." I joke as I take in the sight of the six of us drenched to our toes when we get off the ride.

We head back toward the stage to dry off and set up our stuff. Finn keeps complaining that his shoes slosh when he walks so Rachel makes him take off his shoes so she can dry them in the sun.

"Now my feet are burning. How do I play the drums barefoot?" He complains and Puck walks over and smacks the back of his head.

"You barely play with your shoes on. Aren't you just supposed to sit there and look pretty?"

"Get lost." Finn pokes him with his stick and Puck runs from him.

"Can you guys get serious?" I ask. "Where is Kyle?"

"I'm here I'm here I'm here!" He yells as he comes running onto the stage.

"You're 30 minutes late." Sam scolds.

"Sorry, but God she was worth it." He laughs as he straps on his guitar.

"Dude did you just bang our first groupie?" Puck says high fiving Kyle.

"She didn't even know who we were!"

"That's what they all say at first." Puck laughs.

We warm up as Kurt and Rachel dance in front of the stage and once I catch Rachel flashing Finn when she thought no one was looking.

"I think we are ready." I finally say after we finish our sound check.

Rachel and Kurt head over to sell the posters we had made up at the local copy store before we came. We are hoping that soon we will be able to sell a demo record with a couple of our songs on it. This gig should put us over the top with enough money to make a couple thousand of them.

When the people start to come in I'm pretty happy with the crowd. I recognize a few of the girls who have been at our shows before, but see quite a few who look around like they don't even know who we are or what they are doing here. Hopefully we can win them over with our set.

"Hey everyone, we're One Night Stand. I see a lot of familiar faces in the crowd and we really want to thank you guys for coming down here to see us. If this is your first time seeing us today, I hope you enjoy what you hear."

We launch into our first song and the crowd seems pretty calm. Rachel and Kurt are standing at the side of the stage and quickly run out to stand in front of the stage like they did during sound check. Immediately a few girls follow them to the front of the stage and before long we have quite the crowd dancing and singing along with is. It's pretty amazing as I look around at the guys who are really getting in to the music today. It's almost like we were born to do this. Sure we fight sometimes or we act like fifth graders, but I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else right now on a Saturday evening. I'm pretty glad that our One Night Stand turned into a long term relationship.

We end our set and sit down in front of the stage to talk to the people who wanted to stay and meet us and we make sure we talk to each of them before we pack up to leave.

As we all sit in the van on our way back home Puck and Kyle are in the back snoring, Kurt is asleep curled up against the window. I can practically hear Finn and Rachel moaning as I look back and see the two of them intertwined with each other, hands in each other's hair and their lips locked in a heated exchange. Sam must hear it too because he reaches over and turns up the radio.

"You mean you didn't want to tune in to Finchel after dark?" I laugh.

He chuckles and lays his head back against the head rest. "Yeah I think that's one channel I'll skip the subscription to."


	46. Chapter 46

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 46**

**Finn POV**

"You wanna go to The Perk for lunch?" Kyle asks as we finish our final class of the day.

"Sure let me see if Rachel wants to go." I grab my cell phone and start to text Rachel when the phone beeps in my hand. I see Rachel's name flash across my screen with an incoming text.

'_Please come home right away. 3 R'_

"Crap, looks like it's going to have to be another time dude. Rach needs me at home. I gotta go find out what's wrong."

I hop in the car and take off quickly toward the loft. I tried sending her texts asking her what's wrong but I never get any response. Traffic is out of control as I try and speed through the streets of New York. Why the hell isn't she answering her phone?

What if she fell and broke something or the house is on fire and she's stuck in there? My head starts racing with all the possible scenarios of trouble Rachel could be in and by the time I pull up to my parking spot I practically sprint the rest of the way to the apartment.

"Rach! Where are you? Are you ok? RACHEL!" I yell as I throw the front door open.

I run through the house looking for her until I get to the bedroom and push the door open. When I walk in I see Rachel lying on the bed. She's wearing a pink scarf that is wrapped around her body, and not much else. I lean over trying to catch my breath.

"Oh my God, I thought you were dead!" I say sucking in breath.

She climbs off the bed and walks over to me and I can't help but notice how little that scarf is covering.

"Well as you can see I'm not dead baby." She whispers into my ear as she walks slowly around me, her hands touching me all over and as angry as I am at her right now, my body reacts in ways I can't control.

"Yeah well you scared me." I gulp.

"I'm sorry baby." She says in a tone that totally gets my attention. "Let me make it up to you."

She grabs my hand and slowly walks backwards toward the bed. Hell yes! I could come home to this every damn day. She turns and pushes me back onto the bed and then does the most freaking amazing thing I've ever seen. She gets on all fours and climbs up the bed toward me. It's the first time in years I have had to hit a mailman in my head but damn I've never seen anything so sexy.

She grabs the hem of my shirt and pulls it toward the ceiling and throws it over the side of the bed. "Lie back." She straddles my waist and her hands push against my chest. I moan as she grinds herself against my growing erection and she leans over covering my nipple with her mouth swirling her tongue as she sucks against my skin. FUCK! I mentally prepare to get out of the car and beat the mail man with a bat or something because hitting him with the car just isn't getting it done right now.

She reaches up behind her neck and unties her scarf, wrapping it around her arm as she slowly reveals her breasts under the pink fabric. I reach up to touch her and she smacks my hand.

"Ow, what the hell babe?" I say grabbing my hand. She leans over and kisses it.

"I'm sorry baby." She coos.

"That's better." I bring my hand to her face and her fingers start to wrap around my wrist.

"What are you doing?" I ask as she wraps the end of the scarf around my wrist.

She leans over and whispers in my ear. "Do you trust me?" I shiver as her tongue lays a wet trail from my ear to my chin and I hear myself groan.

"Ye…yes, but…."

She puts her finger to my lips. "Shhhh." She smiles at me and I almost forget what I was protesting to when I feel the fabric encircle my wrist and she pulls it tight. "Ow." I say looking down at my arm. "Babe seriously what are you doing?" She reaches up and ties the other end of the scarf to the bed post.

"I just wanna try something." She whispers as her mouth is back at my ear and I want to get up now before this goes any farther but a part of me is intrigued by the way she is acting. I don't really panic until I see her reach down to her hip and start untying the other scarf that is secured around her waist.

"Uh…Rach." I start to say as she again puts her fingers to my lips.

"Shhh Finn." She runs her finger tips against my lips and pushes her finger slowly into my mouth. I swear to God if I don't cum in my pants soon I'll be freaking amazed.

She pulls the scarf from her hips and grabs my wrist in her hand. She brings it to her mouth as she lays light kisses on the palm of my hand as the fabric slowly wraps around my wrist. At this point I don't even care; I just want her to keep touching me. She pulls my wrist back to the other side of the headboard and secures the scarf on the post. She looks down at me and licks her lips.

"Mmmmm." She moans.

"Something you like?" I wink trying to feel like I'm still in control even though I know I'm nowhere near it.

She sits back on my thighs as her hands fumble with the button on my jeans. And then I feel my pants loosen and her hands drop to my waist to pull them from my legs. She slides back up and does the same for my boxers, my erection springing free. My skin feels like it's on fire as she slowly makes her way up my thighs. Her mouth is all over my legs and her hands are kneading my inner thigh. I try and pull my hands down to touch her but she has me tied up tight so the only thing I can do is buck my hips to try and get contact with her. But once again her hand comes down hard against my thigh.

"You better play nice baby, or I'll find another scarf for your legs."

Ok woah!

Before I can worry about it any longer I feel her tongue hot against my inner thigh and her hand pushes my legs apart as she slides between them. I look down at her and she's grinning at me. "Baby I have no idea what has gotten into you, but you are driving me crazy."

I feel her tongue hot against my balls as she licks up toward my shaft and then stares straight into my eyes. "Well I'm hoping you are going to be in me soon, but I have something else planned for you first." Involuntarily I throw my head back against the pillow and squeeze my eyes shut trying to imagine some sort of natural disaster, earthquake, fire, kittens trapped in a building. Something needs to keep me from blowing my load all over her right now. "Fuck babe!" I shout as suddenly she takes me completely into her mouth and straight to the back of her throat.

I strain against the scarves holding my wrists into place as I try and sit up to watch her. My mouth going dry when our eyes meet and her tongue swirls around the head of my cock, she kisses the tip and then it disappears back into her mouth.

"Babe, please. I can't take much more." I pull harder on the restraints holding me in place as she pulls back, my dick escaping her mouth with a 'plop.' I breathe out trying to distract myself as she crawls up my legs and grinds her wet core against my throbbing erection.

I swear if she doesn't give me what I need I'm going to rip this fucking bed apart soon. Her mouth is on my neck now and I want nothing more than to grab her by the back of the neck and pull her hard against me, flipping us over so that I can impale myself in her, but she tied this so damn tight and the harder I pull the tighter it gets. Only Rachel would be an expert at tying someone up on the first try, she probably researched it on the internet.

"Babe…" I groan. She bites my neck and I find myself making a noise I've never even heard before.

"Babe what?" She says in an almost giggle and I really wish I could get these straps off right now.

"Please. I'm freaking serious here."

"Please what?" She says raising her eyebrow. "What do you want Finn."

"YOU! I want you, just….." Her mouth is on mine in a second and I feel like all the breath is pushed from my body and I can't find any air for my lungs. Her tongue forces its way into my mouth and I can feel her wet against my thigh and hear her moan into my mouth as I buck my hips against her.

I hear myself growl, "Fuck me Rachel. I want you to fuck me." I lift my knee between us, rubbing her center with my leg and she pushes hard against me before she reaches down and grabs me in her hands, sitting up and then pushing herself down onto my cock.

We both moan out loudly as her mouth comes back down on mine. "Oh God Rach." I breathe out as she slams down hard against me.

I can feel the scarves digging into my wrists as I continue to struggle against them and she sits up, leaning back on her heals as her hands cup her breasts and one slides down to rub her clit.

"Oh yeah baby. God I love watching you touch yourself." I marvel at the sight of her so unrestricted and free and it takes everything I have to wait for her to fall over the edge before I do. I can tell by the way her fingers are moving against herself that she's getting close and I bite my lip hard to stop myself from tipping over the edge.

"Oh God Finn." She screams, her head falling back and I watch as her face clenches and I feel her walls close around me as she falls apart on top of me. The sight in itself is enough for me to lose my mental focus as I let go and buck up against her, cuming hard, my arms strained from pulling against the headboard.

Her body falls forward onto my chest, her mouth leaving light kisses against my hot skin. "Oh my God I love you." I breathe out hard.

She giggles against my chest and then looks up at me with her beautiful big brown eyes.

"RACHEL!" I hear a scream from somewhere in the house. We both look toward the door and Rachel jumps off of me.

"Babe, just untie me." I say pulling my wrists away from the headboard.

"Don't go anywhere. I'll get rid of them." She says grabbing at the clothing on the floor and pulling my shirt over her head as she leaves a quick kiss on my cheek.

"Where the hell do you think I'd be going!" I yell as she slams the door shut.

I hear muffled sounds as I lie there naked and strapped to a bed. I try and pull my hands free but the scarves are already cutting off circulation to my wrists. After a while I realize I don't hear anyone talking. I look over at the clock and see that it's been about five minutes already.

And then the door flings open. "Rachel really it's no problem, I can just fix it and be gone before you know it."

"NO really, you don't need to do this, Finn can fix it later."

"FUCK!" I yell as Puck comes storming into the room with a wrench in his hand, Rachel hot on his heels and pulling at his arm.

"Woah!" Puck says staring at me with a grin. "I must have passed my credit check, because my membership just got upgraded!"

"Dude, get the fuck out!" I yell.

"And miss out on the mental picture I got going on right now." He says looking Rachel up and down.

"I swear to God man I'm going to kick your ass."

"This coming from a naked man tied to a bed." He winks.

"NOAH! Just get out of the room right now." Rachel yells.

"Fine! Ruin my fun." He says turning and Rachel breaths out.

"Wait Do you know what this is?" He asks. "This is a fucking Kodak moment if ever I've seen one." He pulls his cell phone from his pocket.

"I will fucking kill you!" I YELL!

I hear the shutter of the camera click. "Gonna have to get untied first Hudson." He winks and walks out the door. "LATER KINKY LOVE BIRDS!"

"Oh my God!" Rachel says throwing her hand over her mouth and running over to the bed.

"Just freaking untie these damn things."

She pulls at them but they won't budge. "Did you have to pull so hard Finn, you have them tied really tight now."

"I HAVE THEM TIED TIGHT! I don't seem to remember TYING this MYSELF!"

"Oh stop being so dramatic." She says frantically.

Suddenly Puck walks back into the room holding a pair of scissors. "Trust me, this is going to be easier than untying them. " He slides the scissors against my skin and the fabric cutting the scarf free from my wrist. He drops the scissors onto the bed. "See you two later." He winks and then walks back out, shutting the door behind him.

Rachel picks up the scissors and cuts the other scarf from my wrist.

"I'm so sorry Finn. I tried to get him to leave by telling him that the shower was broken."

"Why was he even here?"

"Kyle told him there was some emergency at the house and he was trying to call you but you weren't picking up, so Noah came over to make sure we were ok." She puts her head into her hands. "I'm so sorry Finn. That was so embarrassing."

"FOR WHO? I was the one tied to a bed naked!"

"I know." I see her start to shake and I know she's crying.

"Hey, stop. Rach, stop. It's ok." I grab her and pull her onto my lap, stroking her hair.

"I'm so sorry Finn. I just wanted to be sexy."

"Babe, you were totally sexy." I say into her ear. She looks up surprised.

"I…I was?"

"God babe, you have no idea the terrible things I had to do in my head to last as long as I did." I laugh.

"So you aren't mad at me?"

"Well, I wouldn't say I'm mad. I'm probably going to have to do something ungodly to keep Puck from tossing that picture around, but I think I can live with that."

She flings her arms around my neck and kisses me hard against the mouth.

"But…"

She blinks…."what?"

I laugh as I toss her backwards on the bed, kissing her neck. "Payback's a bitch Rach."


	47. Chapter 47

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 47**

**Kurt POV**

"Finn seriously if you don't sit still I'm going to super glue you to that damn chair."

"I'm excited." He says pacing in front of me. "I haven't seen mom in ages."

"That doesn't mean you have to waddle around in front of me like a toddler."

He sighs loudly and then throws himself down in the seat beside me. "The place looked clean right?"

"Finn for the last time, Rachel and Blaine are still at home making the place look like you never lived there."

"Dude, I just don't want mom to think we can't take care of ourselves."

"Would you stop stressing out? The apartment looks great. We are going to go home and have a very nice dinner and they are going to love it there."

"I just don't want mom to worry and if she thinks we can't take care of the place she's going to worry."

"FINN!" I shout. "Would you seriously relax? The worst thing that could happen is if mom and dad find those damn scarves you and Rachel were playing with last week in your room."

"SHUT UP! I thought we said we weren't talking about that ever again." He crosses his arms and sits down low in his seat.

"No, you said we weren't talking about it ever again. I never agreed to something so ridiculous."

"Whatever."

"I just hope Rachel burned the sheets before you let our parents sleep in your bed."

"I can't believe I'm getting this kind of grief from my own brother." He says rolling his eyes.

"You love me."

"You wish." He spits.

"Oh Lord." I laugh as he continues to act like a child. Suddenly he looks up and smiles as he jumps out of his seat and runs across the terminal walkway.

"MOM!" He says wrapping his arms around the small woman coming out of security.

"Son." My own father says walking over and sweeping me into a hug.

"Dad, how was the flight?" I ask pulling out of the hug and fixing my hair. Finn is still hugging his mom and Burt lets out a laugh.

"Nice flight. Your mom was anxious the whole way, but I can see you've been dealing with that on this end as well."

"Yes. He's been acting like a two year old since we got here." I joke as Finn and Carole break apart, tears in their eyes.

"Hi mom." I say leaning over and hugging Carole.

"You boys look so big." She cries.

"I don't see how it's possible for frankenteen to get any bigger."

"Shut it." Finn remarks as he wraps his arm around his mom and takes the bag from her hands. "Let's go home and have dinner, are you guys hungry?"

"Starving." Dad replies.

"Great, cuz Rachel and Blaine are making an awesome meal." Finn says grinning at his mom.

"That's very nice. They didn't have to do that."

"Rachel insisted." I laugh.

"Well that's very sweet of her. I can't wait to see her." Carole smiles.

"We have so much we want to show you guys while you are here." Finn says excitedly. "Rachel and Kurt's show, our gig, my classroom…"

"Woah Finn, let them get out of the airport first." I joke.

"We are excited to do all of it Finn." Carole says reaching over and touching her son's face. The grin on his face widens as he looks over and sticks his tongue out at me and I roll my eyes.

When we get to the apartment the first thing I notice is how spotless the place looks. Blaine and Rachel must have been going insane cleaning up all of Finn's crap out of the place. I wonder where they hid it all. Finn looks just as shocked as I am at the cleanliness of the loft. The next thing I notice is the amazing smell coming out of the kitchen and I almost wonder if they bought take out instead of this being Rachel's cooking. Not that she hasn't gotten better in the cooking department, but this smells like perfection.

"Oh something smells delicious." Carole says as she sets her purse on the floor by the door.

"Yeah it actually does." Finn says looking over at me and shrugging.

Rachel comes running out of the kitchen with Blaine behind her. "I thought I heard you guys." She says excited as she walks over and hugs Carole tightly.

"Hello sir." Blaine says shaking my dad's hand.

"The place looks amazing." Carole says looking around.

"Oh, this mess." Rachel giggles. "Hopefully it will be ok for you while you are here. Let me show you back to your room."

She walks back toward the bedroom as Finn and I gather up their stuff.

"Oh Rachel, we don't have to stay in here. Where will you be sleeping?" Carole says as Finn tosses the bags on the bed.

"No mom, we are fine. Rachel and I will be on the couch."

"Oh we couldn't do that."

"Carole really, I want you to enjoy your stay. Finn and I will be fine." Rachel grins as she hugs Carole again. "Now who's hungry? Blaine and I have been working really hard while you guys were gone making a delicious meal."

"Rachel you have grown up so much." Carole says walking out the door with Rachel. "You've grown into such a beautiful and amazing woman."

"Thank you Carole." Rachel says looking surprised.

We sit down at the table that is completely decorated with plates I have never seen before and new silverware. Usually we eat with paper and plastic. I smile at Blaine and he nods at me.

"This is so lovely guys. You really are doing alright on your own." Dad says as he sits down and examines the table.

"You bet!" Finn says nodding and then patting Rachel on the shoulder.

We dish out our food and begin eating and surprisingly it's the most amazing thing ever. I'm shocked this came from Blaine and Rachel and decide that from now on I'm putting them in charge of all our meals.

"O my thi is so deliso." Finn says with his mouth full.

"Finn, manners!" Carole says looking up at Finn. He swallows.

"Sorry mom."

Suddenly the front door swings open. "YO! We be in the house." Pucks voice travels through to the kitchen and I drop my fork and look over at Finn who shrugs.

"I didn't invite them." He whispers.

"Mrs H! How the hell are you?" Puck shouts as he enters the kitchen.

"Noah, I didn't know you were going to be here." Carole says standing up and walking over to hug the loud boy in the middle of the kitchen. "Hello Samuel." She says as she hugs a quiet but appreciative Sam.

"Yeah no one said you were going to be here." Finn says gritting his teeth.

"Yeah well we ran out of food at home, so here we are." Puck shrugs as he grabs a paper plate from the pantry and pulls up a chair to the table. "Woah were did these fancy plates come from?"

I roll my eyes as Burt laughs. "Hello there Puckerman."

"Hey Mr H. How's it hangin'?" Puck shrugs as he grabs for food.

"Noah! Would you please stop being so vulgar at my table." Rachel yells and everyone jumps.

"Sorry Rachel." He says biting his lip. "Forgot my manners."

"Thank you!" Rachel says going back to her food.

"Seriously dude, where did these plates come from?"

"Enough with the questions you idiot." Finn says through gritted teeth.

"I'm sorry if we are intruding Rachel." Sam says still standing by the stove.

"Don't be silly Sam. You boys get some food. There appears to be plenty." Carole says scooting over for Sam to pull up a chair.

"So how are you boys?" Burt asks Puck and Sam.

"Awesome. Having a blast in New York. Seriously best move we ever made. Dude who made this, it's freaking awesome." Puck says as he shovels the fourth bite into his mouth without chewing.

"Well Rachel made most of it; I just helped watch the pots." Blaine laughs.

Puck starts laughing. "No seriously, who made it?"

"DUDE! Rachel made it you dick." Finn shouts and everyone looks over at Finn. Finn looks around the table. "Err. I mean Rachel made it."

"No way Berry."

"Stop acting so shocked." Rachel pouts. "But Blaine did more than watch pots. I think he's becoming my new helper. At least he HELPS unlike Kurt who just complains about every ingredient I add or Finn who just eats everything before it gets to the pot."

"I don't complain about everything."…"I can't help it that I'm hungry while you are cooking." Finn and I say over each other.

Carole laughs. "I'm glad to see that not everything has changed."

After dinner everyone sat around the table talking about what was going on in their lives. Carole sat soaking up all the information and smiling over at her son and Rachel. I looked around at everyone and even I got a bit choked up. It was nice to have family around the table. And regardless of who was actually related in the room, this was my family. All of them.

"Well I am very tired. I'm sure you guys won't mind if the old folks get some sleep." Carole says standing up from the table and taking her plate.

"Oh I've got that mom." He says grabbing the plate from him.

"Thank you sweetheart." She grins as he kisses her cheek and puts the dish in the sink.

"I'll show you where everything is." Rachel says getting up and I follow them back to the bedroom.

"Thank you dear." Carole is saying as Burt and I enter the room. Rachel is handing Carole a stack of towels for the bathroom.

"Well you guys should be all set. If you need anything Blaine and I are right down the hall in the next room." I tell my dad.

"Yeah, ok." Dad says as he looks down the hall to my room. I can tell he's still not comfortable knowing that Blaine and I share the room.

Finn comes walking into the room. "Do you guys need anything else?"

"Oh no I think we are going to be just fine. You just let us get some sleep and we'll be ready to go in the morning." Carole grins.

Rachel continues to clean up the dresser as I walk out of the room. "Oh what a pretty scarf."

The three of us freeze and turn around slowly to see Carole bending over picking up something she had dropped and pulling part of a scarf out from under the bed.

"What a shame, it looks like someone cut it."

"OOH yeah that old thing." Rachel says walking forward and taking it from Carole quickly. "I wondered where that went. I uh…I use it for the show sometimes. It's like a prop."

"YEAH A PROP!" Finn stutters. "Silly thing just disappeared the other day."

I roll my eyes and turn and leave the room laughing.

"Oh, well glad I found it for you." I hear Carole say as we all walk out of the room and shut the door.

"Oh my God." Finn says as the door clicks shut.

I shake my head as Rachel grabs Finn by the hand and walks out to the living room.

"No seriously. Oh my God." Finn says again.

"Did your parents find your porn collection Hudson?" Puck jokes.

"He wishes. His mom found his S&M collection instead." I laugh pointing to the scarf in Rachel's hand.

"That's freaking priceless you two." Sam says with his hand over his mouth.

"I thought you cleaned the room Rach." Finn complains.

"I did! I had no idea this was under the bed!"

"Relax; she had no idea what it was for." I roll my eyes and sit down on the couch.

"You want me to send her the picture so she has a better idea?" Puck says pulling his phone out of his jean pocket.

"You're dead." Finn says throwing himself over the couch and onto Puck's body as they both go crashing to the ground.


	48. Chapter 48

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 48**

**Rachel POV**

"So after we go shopping, we are going to take you to Awesome 80's prom with us. It's going to be so much fun. I hope you guys are ready to dance like you are in your teens again!"

"Oh Rachel sweetie, I don't know if I could dance back then either." Burt laughs.

"No one dances worse than Finn dad, so I think you are safe."

"Shut it Kurt." Finn argues from the driver's seat.

"It's a shame Blaine couldn't come shopping with us." Carole says smiling over at Kurt.

"Yeah well he has a case this weekend that they want to get finished before the holidays so he is going to try and meet us at the show."

"You guys are just always so busy. How do you keep up with everything?" Carole says sounding surprised.

"Well I wouldn't be able to do anything if it wasn't for Rachel. She keeps me completely on track." Finn says while turning into the shopping center. I feel my cheeks blush as Carole squeezes my hand. "Between school, my class, and the band, there are some days I don't know if I'm going or coming. But Rach always had a thing for calendars and mine tells me exactly where I need to be and when."

"I made it digital. It's on his phone. Finn is addicted to his phone." I laugh. "So this one talks to him. That way he won't forget where he needs to go."

"That's very wise of you Rachel. I'm shocked that he is out of bed this early actually."

"Oh Finn gets up very early every day just to be able to get everything done."

"Yeah I'm responsible now mom." Finn chuckles as he opens the back door so that we can get out.

"Well I'm very proud of you."

We spend the rest of the morning showing Carole around to all the shops and finishing up our Christmas shopping. Finn just keeps grinning like an idiot every time his mom talks about how mature he is and how proud she is of him. I don't think he realized how much he missed his mom.

"Hey baby." I walk up and grab his hand while his parents enter one of the stores.

"Hey you." He leans down and kisses my nose. "You wanna go get our tree tonight after the show?"

"Oh. Can we?"

"Sure. I'm really looking forward to it. It's our first tree."

"We've had tress before Finn." I giggle.

"Yeah, at my mom's house. This one is ours. It's the first one in our home together."

We sit down on the bench outside the shop and I wrap my arm around his. "I never thought of that. It is our first tree."

"I was thinking maybe you and I could do something after my last class on Friday."

"Oh yeah, like what?"

"It's a surprise, but I hope you will like it."

"Ok now I'm intrigued. Can I get a hint?" I hate surprises. I love being in charge and not knowing what is coming drives me insane.

"Nope. It's going to drive you crazy isn't it?" He laughs.

"Yes and you know that!" I pout.

He grins at me with a look that tells me how much he realizes this will make me crazy but before I can protest further Kurt comes running out of the store showing us some new scarf he just bought and the moment is gone. I remind myself to ask Kurt later if he knows anything about this surprise and torture him until he tells me something.

We head off to the venue so that Kurt and I can get ready for the show and Finn tells me that he will meet us there tonight. As soon as we get to our dressing room I turn to Kurt.

"Ok spill right now."

"Um spill what? What are you even going on about?"

"My surprise, what is it? Where are we going?"

"Who's getting you a surprise?" He looks confused.

"Finn. He says we are doing something on Friday but he won't tell me what it is."

"Honestly Rachel I have no idea. Really I don't!" The look on his face tells me that he's not lying.

"It's not like Finn to do anything on his own so what the heck is he doing? He knows I hate surprises."

"Why don't you just enjoy the surprise this time, Rachel?" Kurt says rolling his eyes. "It's probably your Christmas gift or something. It's Finn after all so most likely he is taking you to see the new Transformers movie part 12 or something."

"Oh God you don't think he's doing that do you?" Not that I don't love going to movies with Finn, but I don't want to get all excited for my surprise only to be greeted by more robots and then having to deal with Finn pretending that everything he touches is a robot for four hours after the movie.

"What? You didn't enjoy your last anniversary date?"

I groan as I remember getting all dressed up to go out for our anniversary, thinking we were going to eat at the new vegan place that opened up around the corner only to have Finn take us to the pizza joint down the street before we went to watch the new movie about some space alien taking over a dogs body or something. I can still see the image of an alien bursting out of a dogs butt every time I eat pizza.

I shiver and turn to finish doing my makeup. "Fine, I will just wait and not get my hopes up. "

"It's Finn, you just never know with him. One minute he's all romantic dates in the park and the next he's got you watching aliens flying out of a dogs…."

I put my hand up. "Please, we just ate Kurt."

We get ready for our show and prepare to take the stage. I can never see anything out in the audience until after our first few songs because we spend all of our time on the stage, but once we mingle with the crowd I find Finn and his family pretty quickly.

Burt is wearing a baby blue tux with frills in the front. "OH GOD DAD!" Kurt yells as we approach them. "It's the awesome 80's prom not the 70's! What are you even wearing?"

"I tried to tell him but he said he wanted to wear his old prom suit." Carole says laughing slightly.

"It still fits, sort of. I mean I had to go to a tailor, but it looks pretty spiffy. Don't you think Finn?"

"Oh it's spiffy." Finn says holding in his laughter.

"OH wow, Mr. Hummel. That's quite the suit." I hear Blaine as he walks up behind us. Kurt jumps and throws himself at Blaine.

"You made it baby."

"Yeah we finished the case, so I'm done for the rest of the year."

"You look beautiful as usual." I hear Finn whisper into my ear. "Dance with me."

"Hey you." I say turning around and putting my arms around his neck.

"I missed you."

"I've only been away from you for a couple of hours Finn."

"Doesn't matter." He leans down and kisses my cheek. I look up and see Carole smiling at us.

"I think your mom is pretty satisfied that you aren't drowning on your own." I laugh.

He looks over and smiles at his mom. "Yeah she told me today that she can't believe how great we are doing. You did a really good job with the house by the way. Even I didn't recognize the place."

"I didn't do much. Just clean up a bit and cooked dinner." I laugh.

"Yeah and buy actual plates."

"That was Blaine. He thought it was a nice touch to make us look more grown up."

"I'll thank him later. Mom thought it was awesome. But really, what you do is pretty amazing."

"Aww thank you Finn."

"Really Rach, you're all kinds of amazing." I look up at him and I want to kiss him so badly but it's against the show's policy to kiss any of the patrons. So I just smile and stroke his cheek.

I hear the song ending and Kurt and I run back to finish the rest of the show.

"Oh my God can you believe he wore that?" Kurt complains when we get to our dressing room.

"I thought it was cute."

"CUTE? Of course you thought it was cute, you wore something similar to that in high school."

"Thank you Kurt for reminding me of that jumpsuit!"

"That's what friends are for. That and makeovers!" He laughs.

"Well that depends on your definition of makeover because I recall your last makeover on me sucked!" I throw my dirty clothes toward him.

"Hey! That look was hot."

"HE CALLED ME A SAD CLOWN HOOKER KURT!"

"Woah he called you what? Why has no one told me this before?"

The door swings open and Finn comes through the door almost hitting Kurt with the door. He looks up and sees me with my top off. "Oh my God sorry, I didn't know you weren't dressed." And he quickly closes the door behind him.

"You called her a sad clown hooker?" Kurt says from behind the door. Finn jumps.

"Jesus Kurt where did you come from and holy hell why are you in here with my girlfriend who is naked."

Kurt rolls his eyes and I just laugh. "Finn, Kurt and I share a dressing room. He sees me naked every day."

"WHAT?"

"I'm gay Finn. Seeing Rachel naked isn't going to just turn me straight. Sorry girl, no offense." He says winking at me.

"You two are weird." Finn says as he hands me my clothes.

"Ok I'm ready to go buy a Christmas tree." We grab our stuff and head out to the car. Puck is waiting with the van in the parking lot.

"Geez Berry, take long enough?" He shouts.

We follow him to the tree lot and everyone walks around trying to find the perfect tree.

"Remember boys, we live on the third floor and I won't be the one carrying it up the stairs." I yell as they all run down the aisles looking for a tree. "You too Kurt." I holler as he immediately heads for the biggest tree in the middle of the lot.

"You do so well with all the boys." Carole says quietly beside me.

"Well I'm the only girl so I feel like they are all my brothers and it's my job to make sure they don't burn down the house or something." I laugh.

"Well your fathers should be very proud of you. I know I am."

I look up at her surprised and happy. Carole is the closest thing I have felt to having a mother. "Thank you Carole. That means a lot coming from you."

"No problem dear. So when are you parents coming?"

"Oh they will be here on Wednesday. I can't wait to have an actual holiday at my own house with all of my family."

"Well you've been a lovely host."

We look up ahead and see all of the boys gathered around a tree. "I think they might have found one." I laugh.

"This one's perfect." Finn says as he goes to find the attendant.

I laugh to myself as all the boys seem to get excited over this tree in the middle of the lot. Finn is running around looking for an attendant like a little boy trying to find his toy. He finally finds someone and brings them to the tree with the biggest grin ever on his face.

"Do you like it?" He asks as he walks over to me.

"It's perfect Finn."

"Yeah but I mean you really like it right?"

"Yes Finn of course. I already said I did."

"I know I just want this Christmas to be perfect you know."

I look up at him with that beautiful childlike grin on his face and I can't help but fall in love with him all over again. "I have you. That makes this the most perfect Christmas ever."

He leans over and picks me up, spinning me around. "You are the most amazing thing in the world Rachel Berry." And in that moment when his lips meet mine, the whole world is perfect.


	49. Chapter 49

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 49**

**Blaine POV**

"So you guys just carry all of your own stuff around?" Burt asks as he lifts the drum kit into the back of the van.

"Well yeah mostly. Rachel and Kurt help us set up, but we don't have an actual crew or anything. We did but that kind of went away when we fired the management group." I slam the back of the van shut.

"Well from what Kurt has said and the stuff I have seen, you guys made the right choice." I nod and he pats me on the back. "You know Kurt sent us the video of the Central Park Music Festival, what you did up there on that stage took a lot of courage Blaine. I was really proud of you and you really treated Kurt like he mattered."

"Thank you sir. That means a lot."

"So now what?"

"Well as soon as we get everyone together we will take off to the park."

After an hour Puck finally shows up with Kyle and Sam and we head off toward the festival.

"Wow are all these people here for you?" Carole asks Finn as we pull up to the festival which is already in full swing.

"No mom, this is for all the bands. I mean we draw a crowd but these aren't like our people." Finn says making quote marks in the air.

"What time are we on?" Kyle asks.

"In about an hour. We need to get to B stage." I announce.

Rachel jumps out of the van bundled in a large red jacket and gloves. "You still cold baby?"

"I'm ok. I just hope I'm not getting sick." Rachel says between sneezes and makes her way over to Carole.

I bump shoulders with Finn. "You still gonna be able to do your surprise this week? She seems to be catching a cold."

"I hope so. I'll just keep an eye on her the rest of the week. But the whole thing is outside so I really hope she's gonna be ok."

"Is she driving you insane trying to find out what the surprise is?"

"Oh God yes. Every second we are alone she's asking for a hint."

"Yeah she asked Kurt too."

"See that's why I didn't tell Kurt anything. I knew she would go after him and he has no idea how to keep a secret." Finn laughs.

"Do you think she has a clue?"

"Oh nowhere near. Yesterday she thought I was taking her to a musical or something. And then this morning she freaked out that we were going fishing or something, I think Puck is feeding her bullshit and he doesn't even know what the surprise is."

"Hey guys. What'cha talkin' bout?" Rachel's voice comes from behind us and we both jump and turn to face her.

"Rachel, hi!" I say as I quickly turn and walk away.

"Come on Rach, we're gonna be late." Finn says grabbing her hand and catching up to me.

"Were you guys talking about my surprise? Does Blaine know what it is?"

"No way. What surprise?" I say acting shocked.

"You do know. How dare you hold out on me Blaine!" She shrieks.

I smile and quickly turn to find Kurt.

"Let me guess. She wants to know what her surprise is." Kurt says as I grab his hand and pull him toward the stage.

"She's relentless."

"Yeah and now that she knows that you know she's going to be after you nonstop." He grins and kisses my cheek. "Soooooo. Do you know the surprise?"

"No way Kurt. You are just as bad as she is. I'm not telling you anything!"

"Why not? Please Blaine you have to tell me."

"No! If you find out you will never be able to keep it from her and then Finn will have to kill you."

"Why am I killing him now?" Finn says walking over.

"Nothing. It's not fair." Kurt says as he walks away pouting.

"Dude, your secret sucks." I laugh.

"It's only a couple more days. It's good for them."

"Yo can we rock this thing yet?" Kyle yells as he grabs his guitar and heads for the stage.

"Ok mom, go with Rachel. She'll show you where to stand." Finn says to Carole as Rachel grabs her arm and heads to the side of the stage.

"Your mom looks freaked out." I laugh.

"I think it's the fact that three girls have flashed me since we got here." Finn says pointing to a few of the girls in the front row.

"Hells yeah I love those ladies. They come to every show. Did you ever notice that blonde one has a tat on her right boob? I've got to get close enough to figure out what it is." Puck says trying to get a better view of the girls in the front.

"Yeah I've been pretty busy actually playing my drums instead of checking out boobs." Finn says shaking his head.

"Gay." I say holding my hands in the air.

"You're both gay if you aren't checking those out." Puck says taking the stage.

Finn rolls his eyes and kicks Puck in the butt as they head for their places.

"Hello New York. Glad to see all your faces out here. We are One Night Stand, hope you enjoy the show. We have a lot of new songs so please enjoy."

We cut into our first number and the crowd goes wild. Our girls in the front row are definitely enjoying themselves and more than once they try and get Finn's attention by flashing some skin. Finn as usual is very focused on his drum set so Puck works the ladies into a frenzy by tearing off his shirt and going wild. Midway through the show we are chatting with the audience when Finn interrupts me.

"Hey I just wanna give a shout out to my family in the audience. I LOVE YOU MOM!" He laughs loudly. "Sorry Blaine, I've just always wanted to do that." The audience Ooh's and Aah's as Finn points toward his mom.

We finish our set and head off the stage toward the tent so that we can get something to eat and watch the rest of the show.

"Did you see how in to me those chicks were?" Puck says smacking Sam on the back of the shoulder. Sam is in the corner talking to his girlfriend on the phone and he rolls his eyes and turns away from him.

"So what did you think mom?" Finn says walking over with his mom and Rachel and sitting down with a plate of food.

"Well it was very exciting and I was so proud of all of you up there. But I don't know how Rachel sits through those shows. Those girls are horrible. Don't they know you have a girlfriend?" Carole complains and Rachel looks over at Finn and laughs.

"I've gotten used to it Carole."

"Well you are much pretty than those girls anyway." She says reaching for Rachel's hand.

"Definitely." Finn agrees as he stares lovingly at Rachel.

I grin to myself as I watch them and think about how badly those girls want to get at Finn, but also knowing that Finn would never do anything to ruin what he has with the girl in front of him.

"So now you guys are done?" She asks.

"Yep, at least until we get another gig. But with the money we got from Six flags and this festival, we have enough to record a demo album." Finn grins.

I called around the other day and booked some cheap studio time to record about four of our songs and put them on an album. We have just enough money to do it now. Maybe if we can get our album out we can drum up some press again and find someone interested in representing us.

"An actual album?" Carole asks pulling me out of my thoughts.

"Yes mom and actual album." Finn chuckles.

"My baby on a real album that you can buy? I'm so proud of you." She gushes.

"Mom, it's not like it's going to be available at Wal-Mart or anything." Finn says blushing.

"Not yet anyway." Rachel chimes in. "But I believe with these last few songs you guys wrote that eventually you are going to get there."

"You two better stop before you make him cry." Puck says interrupting us.

"Whatever Puck!" Finn says wiping his eyes and getting up to get more food.

"How do you and Kurt handle all the girls screaming for your men?" Carole asks after Finn leaves.

"Well it's not easy. And sometimes I just want to scream 'HE'S TAKEN', but they are paying customers and really who can blame them. I enjoy watching him up there just as much as the next girl."

"Hey don't you enjoy watching me?" Puck laughs.

"Well, I guess you can be cute." She laughs.

"CUTE! What the hell does that mean?" Puck says sounding offended. "I'm a badass, I don't do cute!"

Everyone laughs as Puck gets up and leaves the table heading out to the stage to watch the rest of the bands and most likely to find some ditzy blonde girl to tell him how badass he actually is.

"Well I don't know about you, but I'm tired just watching all of you." Carole laughs.

"Do you need me to take you home?" Rachel asks. "I can come back and pick up the boys. I'm feeling a bit tired of being outside in the cold right now. I don't want to be sick for my date on Friday."

Carole instantly looks over at Rachel. "Oh you certainly don't, let's get you home right now."

Rachel gets up to find Finn and then stops and looks back at Carole, her eyes full of understanding. "Do you know what my surprise is?"

"Rachel, you know I can't tell you anything." Carole laughs slightly and Rachel stomps away.

"Well now you are in for a long ride home. She's never going to stop asking you."

"Asking what?" Finn says as he and Rachel walk up to the table.

"Nothing." Carole grins. "So are we leaving?"

"Yeah I want to get Rachel home anyway so I'm going to drive you both. Puck is going to bring Burt and everyone else home."

"Thank you Finn."

"See you guys at home." Finn says nodding at me as the three of them head to the parking lot.

I stand up and walk out of the tent looking for Kurt. I find him and his dad on the side of the stage watching one of the closing bands do their set. Burt is having a blast and Kurt is just staring at his father amazed.

"Hey." I walk up behind them and tap Kurt on the shoulder.

"Hey you." Kurt shouts into my ear. "Can you believe how much fun he's having?" He says leaning his head toward his dad.

"Yeah I think he likes this stuff."

We watch the rest of the set and when the band finishes Burt shouts loudly, cheering as they leave the stage. "I've never felt younger. This is amazing."

"I'm glad you enjoyed this. It is pretty awesome." I say shaking my head and looking around at the crowd as it clears out.

"I can't believe you guys do this all the time." He says sounding amazed.

"I wish my parents were as excited about it as you were." I laugh.

"They still not feeling this whole band thing?"

"Not in the slightest. I don't get it either, it's not like I'm not beating myself at school to be number one in my class. I get straight A's."

"You know Blaine, I think you are an exceptional person." He says putting his arm around my shoulder and walking with me toward the van. "I'm proud of what you are doing with your life. And if your parents can't see that, then they are just turning a blind eye to what's in front of them. But one day they will realize what a great kid you truly are."

"Thanks Burt."

"For what?"

"Being like a dad to me. A real dad."

"Well you make Kurt real happy and anyone who can deal with Kurt on a daily basis the way you do is ok in my book."

"Hey are you trying to say I'm impossible to deal with?" Kurt shouts as he catches up to us.

Burt and I laugh at each other. "No Kurt. Not impossible. Just challenging." Burt remarks and Kurt rolls his eyes.

We get to the van and see Sam sitting in the passenger seat still on the phone and Kyle is asleep in the back of the van. "Where's Puck?" I ask Sam. He shrugs his shoulders.

"Great we could be here all night."

"Or as long as it takes Puck to find out what tattoo that chick had." Kyle says without opening his eyes.

We all groan and take a seat in the van. "Oh the life of a rockstar!" I laugh.


	50. Chapter 50

**Brand New Start**

**Chapter 50**

**Finn POV**

"You really aren't even going to give me a hint?"

"Nope. You're just going to have to wait until I get home." I lean down one more time and kiss her on the nose as I roll off of the couch and get ready to leave for what Rachel thinks is my last day of school. What I didn't tell her was that I finished school on Wednesday and I just need the time to get ready for our date tonight. Honestly I've been planning it all in my head for weeks now. But I've never really been good at actually making my plans work out like they are supposed to. The guys always joke about how they 'Finned it up' when they screw something up. And this is definitely something I don't want to 'Finn up'.

I quietly gather up my jacket and backpack and head out the front door leaving a yawning Rachel on the couch. When I shut the door I jump as I turn around and come face to face with my mom.

"Oh honey you scared me."

"I scared you!" I shout. "What are you doing out here?"

"I went for a walk. It's such a lovely morning here and everyone is already awake and busying down the streets. It's amazing here."

"Yeah it is." I smile as I think about all the wonderful mornings just waking up with Rachel in bed and looking out our large windows at the busy city, or making love as the sun sets with the city lights all around us. I love this city.

"So, are you heading over there?"

"Yeah. I told them I would be there by 7. They have a lot to get done so they can be here tonight."

"Well, just be yourself." She chuckles as she brushes off my shirt. "Well maybe not all of yourself. Try not to be nervous or break any of their stuff. I think they are still a bit upset about that vase you broke last time you were home."

"Who keeps a vase right outside of the bathroom door anyway?"

"Just be honest with them. Let them know how you really feel." She says seriously.

"I just hope they don't kill me." I joke. Well I use the word joke loosely because honestly, I'm actually scared they may kill me. I haven't always been the best thing in the world for Rachel. But I'm pretty sure I've made up for the past. At least I hope I have because if I haven't, tonight is really going to suck.

"They aren't going to kill you. They love you. Just like I love you."

"Thanks mom. Do you think I'm doing the right thing?" She looks up at me and for a moment I'm afraid of her answer.

"Do you love Rachel?" She asks me.

"With all of my heart, mom." I reply and she reaches up and pulls my neck down toward her and kisses me on the forehead.

"Then I think you have somewhere you need to be."

I smile at her as we pull apart, squeezing her hand and walking down the stairs. The drive to their apartment feels like the longest drive of my life. My hands are sweating and I swear I'm going to throw up every time I put my foot on the brake. I find a spot out front and park the car and stare up at the brownstone in front of me. I feel like my life is about to end. What if they tell me no? What if they tell me I'm not good enough for her?

I take a deep breath and blow out for what feels like a really long time and I start to wonder just how much air is in my lungs. I start to do it again and I realize I'm just trying to stall myself so I quickly get out of the car and head over to the door. I find the apartment and hit the buzzer and wait for the sound of the door unlocking to let me in. I choose to take the stairs because I feel like I need the extra time to get my thoughts straight but by the fifth flight I realize that I'm sweating up a storm and I'm going to look like an idiot with my clothes soaked with sweat. Then I think that maybe if they see me sweating they will think I'm freaking out about this and that means I'm not ready and I feel myself starting to panic as I reach their door and for a moment I consider calling the entire thing off and doing this next year but before I can turn around the door swings open.

"Finn, please come in. Are you ok? You look sick?"

"Uh no sir, not at all. I took the stairs."

"Is the elevator broken?" He says confused.

"Oh no, I just uh, wanted the exercise." I mentally slap myself for taking the stairs at all because this would have been so much easier if I would have just taken the damn elevator.

"Well come in, have a seat."

"Thank you sir." I walk in and take a seat on the couch facing the window. I figure if I can focus on something outside instead of them, that I won't panic.

"Please Finn; I think we've known each other long enough to get past this sir stuff. I feel like my father when you call me that."

"Oh sorry sir, I mean Leroy." He hands me a glass of water and sits on the couch across from me. I quickly scan the outside surroundings for anything of interest. I see a bird walking around on the balcony and I quickly zone in on its movements as Rachel's other father enters the room.

"Finn, I thought I heard your voice. My goodness boy, do you have a fever?"

"He took the stairs for some ungodly reason." Leroy laughs.

"Oh my, to be young again." Hiram jokes.

"Well obviously with the way I'm sweating I probably need to work out a bit more than I do." I say trying to make a joke but they just stare at me so I quickly find the bird back on the balcony.

"So Finn, we are very happy to see you, but I'm sure this isn't just a social visit." Leroy says seriously.

"Um no sir, not that I don't enjoy seeing you both." I feel like my entire mouth has gone dry. I tip the glass back to drink the water and I can see them both staring at me. I focus on the bird on the balcony as I continue to drink. At some point it starts to become awkward as I can't seem to stop drinking the water and the bird on the balcony keeps staring right at me as if it's mocking me. I swallow the last bit of water and gulp loudly as I place the glass on the table in front of me, silently cursing the bird on the balcony and wishing I never came up with this stupid idea in the first place.

"Soooo." Hiram says as he looks over at Leroy.

I take a deep breath. "So, you know I love your daughter and I know you had your reservations about us moving in together and sometimes I haven't always done right by her, but really I just needed to grow up because honestly I don't think I knew what I was doing half the time I was with her which is really stupid and sometimes I guess I can be really stupid and I don't even know why she's with me half the time and yet she is and she's wonderful and I don't think I could live without her even if I tried, not that I want to try because I most definitely don't want to. But I'm just saying if I tried, I couldn't do it because she's like the thing that keeps me together and I just feel connected to her in a way that I can't even describe or make people understand although I imagine you might understand seeing as you've been together for a long time and…."

I hear the bird cooing in the background and my attention goes directly to it. It's staring in the window and it almost sounds like it's yelling at me. And frankly why wouldn't it, I'm rambling and I don't even know what I'm saying anymore. But it's like my mouth won't stop and my brain won't catch up. I wonder if this is how Rachel feels when she talks because honestly I feel like I'm going on and on like she does every single day and honestly it's just tiring and I remind myself to talk to her about it when I get home because I don't know how she does this without having a heart attack. Wait. Maybe that's what is happening. Maybe I'm having a freaking heart attack. I feel like I could be. My chest hurts and I want to pass out and I don't know if that is from the fact I haven't taken a breath in about five minutes or the fact that I just realized I'm still talking and I have no idea what I'm saying because I've been thinking inside my head this whole time.

"Finn, Finn, breathe! Leroy, get him another glass of water." I look up and see the concern on both of their faces as I wipe the sweat off my brow and look back for the bird. It figures the damn thing would abandon me in my time of need. Stupid fucking birds. Leroy comes back in the room and hands me a glass of water. I tip it back as the cool water hits my throat and I gulp it down, careful not to drink the whole thing this time. I look up and see them both staring at me intently.

"Finn, why don't you slow down and just tell us why you are here?"

I take another breath and stare at the coffee table in front of me. "I know I haven't always been the best boyfriend to Rachel. I've hurt her in the past, but I swear to you that I would never hurt her intentionally again. I love you daughter sirs. And I would do anything for her…." I take another deep breath as I look up at their faces. "Which is why I want to ask you if it would maybe be ok if I asked her to marry me?"

They both look at each other and then back to me. I quickly scan the window for that damn bird but like a traitor it's deserted me in my time of need.

"Finn…" Hiram starts to say.

"I'm not saying we would get married tomorrow. Or even next year. I just want to ask her to marry me, to take that step."

"Finn…." He says again.

"And I know you probably think we're too young, but really we aren't. My mom had already had me by our age, not that I plan on getting your daughter pregnant because that would be bad and we aren't ready for kids or anything.."

"Finn!" Leroy says loudly.

I gulp. "Yes sir?"

"While I do have to admit we are concerned about your age. I don't for a second doubt your commitment to our daughter."

"Yes sir, I'm totally committed to her and as I said, I'm not talking about getting married tomorrow."

"Promise me something." Hiram says softly.

"Anything sir."

"Promise me that you will wait to actually get married until Rachel has finished school…"

"Yes sir."

"I wasn't finished."

"Sorry." I say sitting back in my seat.

"You will wait until she graduates and you will promise us that you will always be there for her. If you choose to ask our daughter to marry you, I expect you to choose her for life young man. She becomes your responsibility, your life."

I wait until I am sure he is finished speaking before sitting up again. "Sir, I definitely promise you that. Rachel is my life and I would do anything to take care of her."

Suddenly Hiram stands up and I worry for a second that he is going to throw me off the balcony with that damn bird but instead he holds out his hand toward me. I quickly stand up from the couch, wiping my sweaty palms on my pants and shaking his hand.

"Welcome to the family son." He says as Leroy jumps off the couch and wraps his arms around both of us.

"I always knew this day would come." Leroy says.

"Thank you sirs."

"You are going to have to stop doing that though." Hiram says glaring down at me.

"Oh sorry, thank you Hiram, Leroy." I say nodding my head in their direction.

"That's better."

"Oh and you're still coming over at 8pm tonight right? I want to bring Rachel back to see all of our family and friends afterwards."

"We will be there. However, have you thought about what you are going to do if she says no?" Leroy laughs.

If she says no? Well I wasn't worried about it before. But now that he's said it, would she say no? Oh God, what if she says no?

"Um, let's just hope I've played my cards right and that doesn't happen."

"Well Rachel is a very good card player; she's been playing with us since she was 3." Hiram jokes and I laugh slightly as I remember her beating us all in strip poker and I realize what a swindler my girlfriend really is.

"Well I will see you guys at 8 hopefully. I need to go and talk to a few other people before our date. Thank you again. I really will take good care of her."

"We know you will Finn."

I shake their hands and head out the door toward the car, breathing a sigh of relief as the door closes behind me.

When I look up at the car I see it is covered in bird poop and I mentally curse the damn bird on the balcony. I climb into the car and drive toward Puck's house. I asked all the guys to meet me there so I could tell them what was going on. I planned on telling them all before, but I wanted to do it where I knew that none of them would actually spill the beans to Rachel. I figure today is as safe as I'm going to get.

I knock on the door and Puck greets me with a beer. "Yo dude, you want a cold one?"

"Uh no, not today." I follow him in and find everyone playing video games in the living room. Kurt and Blaine are watching as Sam, Puck, and Kyle are in the middle of a Halo marathon.

"FInnster!" Kyle shouts as I walk into the room.

"Hey guys."

"Get off your game; I want to know what the heck this surprise is right now." Kurt complains as he grabs the game controller from Sam's hands.

"Dude I was actually beating him this time." Sam complains.

"Ok dude, what the hell is going on? Is Rachel pregnant?" Puck asks as he throws himself down on the couch.

"What? No she's not pregnant. We happen to be smarter than you and figured out what causes pregnancy years ago so we could prevent it."

"Yeah whatever, just spill. What's so damn important that we have to be up so damn early in the morning with Kurt screaming on my couch about how messy my place is? This is torture dude."

"I'm asking Rachel to marry me." I announce quickly.

"What?" Kurt squeals. "Oh my God. I'm already seeing dresses in my head. We can have the wedding in Central Park and doves, oh God Finn the doves."

"Ok calm down Kurt. I'm asking her to marry me; I'm not getting married tomorrow."

"Of course you aren't. We need time to plan something so epic."

"Are you insane?" Puck suddenly says from his spot on the couch. "You can't get married."

"I love Rachel and I want to be with her. I'm sure of that."

"How can you be sure of that? You've slept with two girls and one was a fucking lesbian Finn."

"It's not about how many girls you've slept with Puck."

"Like hell it's not. What if you wake up in ten years and decide you want to fuck the blonde girl in 2B?"

"Seriously?" Kurt moans. "That's ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous. That's what men do. They get married, they think they are in love, they fuck the same woman for ten years and then one day they wake up and think 'hell, why didn't I tap that before' and then they are gone."

"Well I'm not going to do that."

"You can't say that, are you from the fucking future? Do you know yourself in ten years when you've gained 20 pounds and you want to feel young again so you tap the fucking waitress because she liked the tip you gave her?"

"You're out of line dude." I yell.

"You're out of line. This is fucking stupid." He gets up from the couch and stomps off to the back room and I hear his door slam.

Everyone looks at each other, no one wanting to speak. "Well that went well." I laugh.

Sam gets up from the couch and walks over to me. "Congratulations Finn. I wish you and Rachel the best."

"Thanks man, I know you weren't always sure about me with Rachel."

"You're a good guy. And Rachel loves you, that's all I need to know." He leans over and hugs me with a pat on the back.

"Yeah congrats Finn." Kyle says walking over and shaking my hand. "Just don't forget what a lucky bastard you are."

"Never." I laugh as he punches me in the arm.

"I'm so excited. Oh God did you ask her dads, because she will freak out if you didn't ask her dads." Kurt says starting to panic.

"Chill man, I just left their place before I got here. They were cool with it."

"Oh my God she's going to be so excited. I need to get over there and do her hair and get her ready."

"Hell no!" I shout. "You stay away from her. She'll smell it on you if you go anywhere near her right now."

He sits back and pouts as Blaine pats him on the knee. "I can't believe you kept this from me." He whispers as he smacks Blaine on the knee.

"Ok guys, I really need to get back so I can get ready. Remember, 8pm I'm bringing Rachel back to the loft to celebrate with everyone. It's a surprise. I hope you all will be there." I look back toward where Puck took off and frown.

"I'll talk to him ok." Sam whispers as I walk to the door.

"Thanks." I say sadly.

I drive back toward the loft feeling nervous. What if I forget the ring? Crap, where did I put the ring? I think hard and then I remember that I put it in my sock in my sock drawer. Rachel refuses to go into my sock drawer because she hates that I mismatch my socks when I put them away. It drives her insane. So I purposely put a brown sock together with a black one and laid it on top and she hasn't gone in there since.

When I get back to the loft I see Rachel and my mom talking at the table in the kitchen. I stand in the door and just stare. Rachel looks beautiful. She's wearing a simple pink top that swoops down in a V across her chest and a pair of simple black jeans. Her hair is flowing down around her shoulders and her face is glowing. I feel like I won the lottery because she's the most amazing thing in the world and she's all mine. I really don't know how I got so lucky.

"Oh hi Finn." Rachel says looking up.

"Hey baby. I'm gonna go shower and get ready ok." I walk over and kiss her on the top of the head while smiling over at my mom. "By the way, you look absolutely stunning."

"Thank you." She grins.

I head into the bedroom and Burt is sitting on the bed watching TV. "Hey Finn, you all ready for tonight?"

"Yeah. I think. I mean I don't feel like I'm having a heart attack anymore so that's good right?"

"How did it go with the dads?"

"Well I didn't break anything so that was a plus. I don't really remember what I said, but they didn't kill me so it must have been ok." I laugh.

"Well just remember to breathe tonight and have fun. You've done the hard part."

"Yeah sure. You remember who I'm asking right?"

Burt laughs and then nods. "Point taken."

I quickly head to the shower and turn on the water. I don't know how long I stand there in the stream but after a while I realize I need to get out and just face this. It's now or never Hudson.

I quickly get dressed and head out to the bedroom again as I dig through my sock drawer to find it. I reach toward the back and pull out the black sock with the bulge in it. I pull the box from the sock and open it; I smile as I look down at the glittering stone and quickly shut the lid and put the box in my pocket.

I walk out to the kitchen to find Rachel talking with Carole and Burt about one of the times that we tried to bake and ended up with batter on the ceiling because we slipped in butter and threw the pan in the air. Mom is crying from laughing so hard and when I walk into the room she looks up with tears in her eyes and winks at me.

"You ready?" I say softly to Rachel.

She squeals as she grabs her purse. "You two have fun." My mom says as she reaches up and kisses my cheek. She turns to Rachel and hugs her. "Enjoy your evening Rachel."

"We'll see you guys later." She says as she grabs my hand and we head for the door.

Rachel starts walking toward the car and I grab her hand. "Nuh uh. We're taking a cab."

She wraps her coat around her neck and then links her arm in mine, starting to wave down a cab. "Ok."

I pull back and push her toward the steps of the building. "But first I need you to stand right here."

She looks at me confused. "Ok but why?"

"I want to take a picture of you." She laughs loudly.

"Ok why?"

"Because this is our first place in New York. Remember when we came here for Nationals junior year?"

"Yes. Of course I do."

"Well I told you that night that one day you would be living here. And now you are. I'm taking a picture for your new scrapbook page."

She grins and throws her arms in the air. "Grilled Cheesus!" She yells as I snap the picture.

"Ok let's go smart ass." I smirk at her reference to my grilled cheese sandwich with magical powers from high school.

I see our cab pull up and we climb in the back seat.

"So now where?" She says excitedly.

"You'll see. You should recognize the place." I laugh. She watches out the window as the buildings fly by and I continue to gaze at her. I love how amazed she is by New York even after living here for so long. She takes everything in as if it's the first time seeing it.

"Hey I know where we are." She exclaims as we pull up to the building where she performs her show. I pay the driver and we climb out. "Why are we here?"

I pull out my camera. "Look up there." I point to the sign above the front door.

"Yeah it's the sign to our show." She says confused.

"What does it say?"

"It says Awesome 80's Prom."

"Yeah and under that?"

"Rachel Berry."

"Yes it does, doesn't it?"

She grins at me. "What is your point Finn?"

"I want to take a picture of you with your name in lights. I told you it would be up there one day." She stands in front of the sign and I take the picture. I look down at it. "Well it's ok, but it's not exactly what I promised."

She wrinkles her nose as I take her hand and lead her away from the building back out on to the sidewalk. We walk a few blocks in silence as she looks around at all the buildings.

"You see I seem to recall your name would be on Broadway." I say when we turn the corner of the block.

"Well, you can't always get what you want Finn." She giggles.

"True, but…." I stop in front of the Majestic Theater and turn to face her. "This is where you belong. ON Broadway."

"I'm glad you have that kind of faith in my Finn." She smiles.

"I believe in you more than I believe in myself babe." I kiss her cheek as I reach back into my pocket and pull out the paper I've been holding on to for a week. "And now I think it's time you believe in yourself." I hand the wrinkled paper to her and she takes it and opens it slowly. She begins reading the letter and then looks up at me.

"What is this?"

"It's an audition. Look it's just for the understudy role, but I was talking to your professor after school one day and he mentioned that he knew someone who worked here and that they were looking for an understudy for Christine. I didn't know who that was, but he told me that if you were interested he could probably get you an audition."

"Wait, you want me to audition for Christine Daaé? Are you out of your mind?"

"Why?"

"I'm not ready for that!" She says shoving the paper back at me and starts walking away.

"Yes you are. You've always been ready, you just have been afraid to take a chance. Rach." I yell as I run after her. "Rach, you took a chance on me, but when are you going to take a chance on yourself?"

She turns and looks up at me with tears in her eyes. "What if I screw it up? Or they don't like me? What if I'm not good enough? I'd die Finn. It would just prove I don't belong here!"

"But you do. And it's time you put yourself out there. Stop hiding Rachel. Be who you are!"

She reaches into my hand and takes the paper from me. "You really think I can get into Phantom? Finn, it's Broadway!"

"Yeah! It's totally cool." I laugh.

She reaches up and wraps her arms around me. "This is the best surprise ever. Thank you."

I pull back from her. "That's not your surprise Rach."

"There's more?" She says wide eyed.

"Will you do the audition?"

She looks up at the building and then back at me. "Yes."

"Alright then, let's go." I grab her hand and walk past the building.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

We walk for a bit until I start to hear people singing and I cross the street. "Remember this?" I say grinning at her.

"Ice skating! God I remember when we tried to do this. We almost died!"

"That's being a bit dramatic don't you think." I laugh loudly.

"NO! We fell down and almost got killed by all the people skating around us."

"Come on." I say pulling her toward the shoe counter.

"Oh no, I'm not going out there again."

I turn and look at her, giving her my best pouting face.

"No way Finn. Baby, please stop that, I'm not going….Oh fine!" She finally says giving in.

She reluctantly puts on her skates and I grab her hand as we walk to the ice. "Just hold on to me and I'll hold on to the wall."

"I swear I don't want to fall down today."

"Trust me Rach." I say looking into her eyes and I see her face soften as she loosens her grip on my hand and steps out onto the ice.

It's not pretty, and we go really slowly but we stay on our feet. After we make it around the rink one time I let go of the wall.

"What are you doing?" She yells.

"Just come over here." I push away from the wall and move us toward the center of the ice.

"Finn we are going to fall and die."

"Stop being so dramatic babe. Ok on three I want you to fall down ok?"

"What?" She's staring at me with her mouth open.

"Just fall down. One…."

"Finn, I'm not falling down."

"Two…."

"Finn, I'm serious."

"Three." I grab her by the arm and pull her toward the ice with me as she screams. She lands on top of me and I start laughing loudly when I look up at her face and she's staring at me with this look on her face that definitely isn't joy.

"Finn Hudson I have no idea what you are…."

I pull her face to mine and cut her off with a kiss as she leans in to me and I roll her over onto the ice so she is on her back. As I pull away I lie back beside her and look up at the stars. I reach into my pocket and pull out the camera. "Ok Rach, smile." I say as I hold it over my head and snap the picture of the two of us lying there with our heads together.

I sit up and try and pull myself up. I offer her my hand and she stands up beside me. "How did you get to be so adorable?" She giggles.

"I was born that way baby." I joke.

"Ok, Mr. Adorable. How are we going to get back there?" She asks pointing to the exit.

"Well, I hadn't really thought that far ahead." She looks up at me and her mouth drops open.

"Well just great! I'm not crawling out of here again Finn! That was humiliating last time."

"Yeah but it did give me a great view of your ass."

"HEY!" She says slapping my arm.

We slowly start to make our way back toward the exit and we both cheer loudly as we hit solid ground without falling down. Rachel sits down quickly to take off her skates and I snap a few photos of her.

"Finn, I think you have enough pictures of me taking off my skates now. They can't be that interesting."

"You are always interesting to me." I sit down across from her and take off my own skates.

"Well as interesting as I am, I'm also hungry. Are we going to eat for this date?" She laughs.

"Yup. We should be going now actually." I look down at my watch and see that it's past 7:30 so Blaine should have set up our dinner by now. I grab her hand and we start walking again. She looks at me confused as we turn into central park.

"I thought we were going to eat? Are we having hot dogs?"

I laugh loudly at the look on her face. "No babe." I turn right and pull her toward the benches. "Do you know where you are now?"

"Oh that's our bench." She says, her hand leaving mine as she takes off toward the bench.

I catch up to her and pull out my camera, taking her picture as she looks out across the park.

"You remember what I told you back then? That this was the first time I really saw you?"

She takes a breath and then smiles. "I'll never forget that night."

I sit down next to her and take her hand. "Me either. I told you that I wanted to be more than what I was. And that I wanted to be here with you."

"And look at us now." She grins.

"Yeah. I am more than what I thought I could ever be Rach. And that's because of you."

"Well I think you had a lot to do with that Finn."

"Rach, I don't think you understand what you do for me. I'm nothing without you."

She looks up at me and smiles and then kisses my lips. It's soft and loving and all of a sudden I feel like I can't breathe anymore. The box in my pocket feels heavier. I look into her eyes. "Rach…"

"Oh Finn, someone is in our spot." She says suddenly as she jumps up off my lap and starts walking away.

"Rach." I call after her as I chase her toward our spot in the park. When I catch up to her she is staring at the picnic laid out in the middle of the grass. Candles are lit on the sides just the way I asked Blaine to do it.

"Uh, surprise." I say behind her.

"Oh Finn, is this for us?" She says turning and wrapping her arms around me.

"Yeah, I hope you don't mind eating on the ground."

"No, it's so romantic." She says sitting in the middle of the blanket. I take a seat beside her, pulling on the collar of my shirt. I don't know why it feels so freaking hot in the middle of December in New York.

She pulls the food out of the basket and starts making our plates up as I pour the wine. "You like the cups?" I say winking at her.

"Only the best for us Finn Hudson. I always did like these airplane cups." She giggles.

I gulp as she takes a sip of wine and the wind blows her hair back from her face. I feel like I want to start screaming or crying, I don't know which, but either one would break me out of the tension I am feeling right now. I feel like the whole damn park is spinning and I know she's talking to me but I can't hear a word she is saying. I just see her. She stops talking and smiles at me.

"Are you ok?"

"Uh, yeah." I say trying to feel the back of my throat.

"You know," She grins and leans over me and I can smell her shampoo and I just want to pull her in to my arms forever. Forever. That's exactly what I want with her. I want to hold her forever, but I can't even speak right now. I just need to say it, to scream it, or beg or something, anything. But nothing is coming out. And then she speaks. "You can kiss me if you want to."

I smile and the memory comes flooding back from all those years ago. The way she sat there in that short skirt, her eyes big and brown and nervous with anticipation of my next move. Lying her down on the pillows and feeling her lips touch mine for the first time. If only I had known back then that the kiss we shared that day would be the start of the rest of my life, I would never have believed it. But here we are, years later and I still want to kiss her, to hold her, to be with her. Central park isn't our home away from home. Rachel is my home. As long as I have her, I don't need anything else.

"Marry me." I blurt out and her smile falls from her face as she stares intently at me and for a moment I'm just waiting for her to scream or cry and run away.

"Whaa...whaat?" She whispers.

"Marry me Rachel. I've loved you from the moment our lips touched all those years ago. I still love you as if it was the first time we kissed. You are my everything, my home, my life. I don't want to be with anyone else but you. Marry me."

"Are you serious, Finn?" She says blinking.

I realize how heavy I'm breathing and that's when I remember, I got her a ring, where's the damn ring? I quickly feel around my pockets until my hand hits the hard box. I reach in and pull it from my pants and her eyes follow my gaze as she gasps.

"Finn."

"Look, I'm not saying we need to do this tomorrow, or even next year. But I want to be with you." I open the box and hold the ring up to her. "It's not a lot Rach, but my dad gave this to my mom when he came home on leave. He told her that she was his everything and he meant that until the day he died. That's how strongly I feel about you. Until the day I die Rach."

I look up at her and there are tears falling from her eyes and I quickly reach up to wipe them away as she looks up into mine.

"Please say something because if you don't say something I think I'm going to have a heart attack and that whole dying thing is going to happen a lot sooner than I had hoped."

She laughs but it comes out more like a sob but then I feel her hands on my face and her lips touch mine and my heart explodes as our lips move together and I pull her into my lap. "Yes Finn." She whispers against my lips. "A million times yes." I don't even break the kiss as I feel for the ring in the box and pull it out and slide it onto her finger, lacing our hands together.

"I love you Rach." I say between kisses.

"I love you too." She breathes. We pull back and she looks down at her hand. I'm amazed how beautiful the ring looks on her finger. "I can't believe Carole would give this to you."

"Babe I've had that in my sock drawer since last Christmas."

"What?"

"I asked mom for it when we went home."

"You knew back then?" She says amazed.

"I've always known. I knew back when I brought you here junior year." I say pointing to the bench. "Now eat your food so we can go home and tell mom you said yes." I laugh.

"Oh yes I can't wait to tell her." She hurries through dinner and we gather our stuff and head back to get a cab. Our hands linked together the whole way and I smile to myself every time my finger brushes against metal.

As we climb the stairs to the loft, Rachel stops in the middle of a step. "Oh God Finn, my dads."

I look down at her. "What about them?"

"They are going to kill you. You should have asked them first."

I laugh. "It's going to be ok babe." I say as I open the door to the loft and we hear "Surprise."

"Oh my goodness." She says grabbing ahold of me. "Daddy?"

"Hey baby girl." He hugs her and then looks down at her hand. "I can see we got a yes out of our girl." He says to me.

"You knew?"

"Finn came by and spoke to us this morning."

Rachel turns and looks at me. "You asked them?"

"Of course I did, you would never have forgiven me if I didn't." She reaches up and hugs me tightly.

Kurt rushes forward and lifts her off the ground. "I'm so excited; imagine all the fun we are going to have planning this wedding." He laughs.

Blaine pats me on the back and then hugs Rachel as Sam steps forward and picks her up.

"My little girl is getting so big." He jokes as he puts her back on the ground. "Congrats chipmunk." He says as he reaches over and shakes my hand.

"Hey if he ever makes you mad and you change your mind, you know where to find me." Kyle says with a wink as he hugs Rachel.

"Funny." I say as I remove him from her arms.

Mom and Burt walk over and they each hug her. "Welcome to the family sweetheart." Mom says.

"Thank you so much. And thank you for the ring. It means so much to me that you let me have it."

"Chris would have loved you." She says through tears in her eyes and I quickly wipe away a few of my own.

I look toward the back of the room and I see Puck standing against the wall. I walk over toward him. "Hey man."

"Hey. Look, sorry about the way I acted earlier."

"No big deal man. We can still do guy stuff you know. Just cuz I'm getting married doesn't mean we quit having fun."

"Yeah I know. Look, it's Rachel. She's my girl. She's practically my sister you know. If anything happened to her, well it would kill me. My dad left my mom after ten years of marriage because he liked some young chick down the street. I just don't want to see that happen to her."

"You know I love Rachel. I would never hurt her Puck. You have my word."

He shakes my hand and then squeezes. "Well just remember I can still kick your ass."

I laugh and he turns and walks over to Rachel picking her up off the ground and hugging her tightly. "I'm happy for you girl. He's a lucky guy."

"Thank you Noah." She says quietly.

"Ok, let's toast to the newly engaged couple." Kurt shouts as he hands out champagne.

"To Finn and Rachel, may they live long, happy, and healthy lives."

I look over at Rachel and smile at her from across the room as I raise my glass to her. "To Finn." She yells, "May he forever be able to put up with me."

Everyone laughs. "To Rachel," I say softly. "May she love me for the rest of our lives the way that I intend to love her."

She crosses the room and sets her glass down as her lips meet mine and in that moment I know that I am finally home, forever.


	51. Epilogue

**Brand New Start**

**Epilogue**

**Rachel POV**

"Good morning future wife."

"Good morning to you, future husband." I feel Finn's hand under my chin as he lifts my face to meet his gaze.

"Hi." He whispers as his lips brush against mine.

"Hi." I say softly, returning his kiss with more fever. My hands instinctively move into his hair and I catch my breath slightly when I see something glittering on my hand and I hold my hand out behind him as I stare at the new ring on my finger.

"Um hey Rach, am I boring you?" His lips move into a grin against mine.

I pull back and look at him embarrassed. "No, I'm sorry. I just….it's so beautiful." I pull my hand down between us and he lightly kisses my finger and the ring.

"It's nowhere near as beautiful as you."

I giggle. "I can't believe we're engaged!" I squeal.

"I still can't believe you said yes."

"Finn! Why wouldn't I say yes?"

"I dunno. Because I'm me. It's not like I haven't been an idiot a few times. I wouldn't have blamed you for laughing at me when I asked you."

"I think we have both played the idiot card a few times Finn."

"Well thank you anyway."

"For what?"

"Believing in me and seeing something in me that made you take that chance on me all those years ago."

"You believed in me too."

"I still do Rach."

I quickly bring my lips back to his as I roll into his side, draping my leg over his and letting my hands roam across his chest. I hear him moan loudly when my hands reach the elastic of his boxers and he grinds his hips toward me.

"God I've missed you." He whispers into my ear as my hand slips beneath the material and grips him, slowly pulling my fingers around the tip and then sliding them back down his shaft.

"I missed you too." I coo against his neck, my hot tongue leaving a wet trail up to his earlobe and I feel him twitch against my hand.

"I need you so bad right now." He says pushing his hips against my hand.

"Your mom is in the other room Finn." I giggle into his ear, knowing how crazy I am making him.

"I don't care. I want you." He pulls back and quickly pushes the hair out of my face, staring at me with what can only be described as pure lust. I've never been able to turn down Finn Hudson and this morning is no exception. I've wanted him for weeks now and not being able to do more than just touch each other has been torture. His hand slides between us as his fingers brush against my panties and this time I find myself moaning softly as I bite my lip.

"You want more of that." He smirks and I nod my head as his hand slips between the fabric and against my skin. I feel his finger tip parting my folds as he slides his finger against my clit and I throw my head forward against his neck to squash my groaning. The speed at which my hand is stroking him has increased and we are both breathing pretty heavy when he rolls over on top of me.

"Now." He says simply as his hands tug my panties to the side and he enters me quickly. I bite down on his shoulder to stop from screaming and he groans loudly in my ear. "Oh God yes."

Suddenly we hear the door open and someone come out of one of the bedrooms and then walk into the kitchen. Finn puts his hand over my mouth and I look at him expecting him to stop thrusting into me but instead he increases his thrusts and kisses my neck and whispers. "Shhh."

I know that we should stop. It could be Kurt or for heaven's sake his mom but I haven't had sex with Finn for over a week and I just need him so bad and the way his hand is rubbing between us I know it won't be long before I explode.

He slams against me hard and his tongue presses against my earlobe, "I've missed fucking you. God you feel good." He whispers and his breathing is getting labored and I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from screaming out as his hands take me over the edge with each thrust inside me.

"Are you two awake?" I hear Carole holler from the kitchen.

Finn slams inside me with a grunt as he bites down hard on his lip as his orgasm overtakes him. "Uh yeah mom, we're uh just…getting…up." He breathes out in ragged breaths.

"Would you like pancakes?" She asks. I nuzzle into his neck and kiss him lightly against his Adam's apple, and he slides slowly inside me a few more times, panting in my ear.

"Uh yeah, I'll be right in." He yells as he leans his face down and kisses me softly on the lips. "God I missed you."

I giggle. "That was sooooooo wrong." I whisper.

"But soooooo right." He laughs.

He slides out of me and rolls over just as Kurt's voice can be heard coming from the hallway. "I hope you two are dressed because I don't want to see anyone naked today." Finn reaches over and grabs his t-shirt from the side of the couch and throws it over his head.

"No one's naked Kurt!" He yells. "You want some breakfast future wife?"

"You know I think I might future husband."

We make our way to the kitchen where the smell of waffles hits us as soon as we enter the room. "Mmm it smells delicious Carole. Let me help you."

"Oh sweetie thank you." She hands me a spoon to stir the batter.

I slowly stir with the bowl in my hands and I blush slightly when I look up and see Finn staring longingly at me from the table. He winks at me and I can't hold the giggle in.

"Oh Lord how long before this post engagement high ends?" Kurt complains with a laugh.

"What?" Finn asks.

"I could vomit from the eye sex, seriously."

I snort loudly when I think of the sex his eyes almost witnessed and Finn immediately turns red. "Mom's in the room you idiot!"

"Ok boys, enough with the name calling, sit down and eat your breakfast like adults." Carole scolds as she sets the food down in front of the hungry boys and they finish their breakfast in silence, mocking each other between bites but laughing loudly with each childish gesture they make.

**========================= Finn POV**

"So you're still doing the audition right?" I ask her as we are walking hand in hand through the park that evening.

She looks up at me and grins. "Yes. I'm doing the audition. You were right. It's time that I take a chance on myself."

"Awesome."

We walk down the path in silence, our hands swaying between us. I love the way her hand fits in mine and I never mind that I have to walk a bit slower so she can keep up with me. As long as I have her by my side everything I do is worth it.

"Finn?" She asks looking up at me.

"Yeah babe."

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Anything for you."

"If I don't get this part, will you promise to remind me that I can't give up? That I need to keep trying?"

I stop and grab both of her hands. "Babe, it's not in you to give up. But if you ever think you feel like you are, I'll be right there to keep pushing you forward."

"What did I do to deserve you?"

"You were born." I say simply. She smiles widely and I lean down to quickly kiss her lips.

"Oh stop." She laughs loudly as she turns and starts walking down the path again, stopping just to look back and extend her hand out to mine again. I take it and follow her down the path toward the bridge. I can't help but stare at her as she walks. The way she smiles with each step she takes or how every few steps she chews on her bottom lip as she watches people walk by. I always thought that Rachel was beautiful while we were growing up. She wasn't the conventional type of beautiful that everyone thought of. She wasn't a Quinn or a Santana. To me she was always something more. Something special.

But it's funny how years later, when you start to grow up and change and you start worrying about whether you will look good for a while or start to get fat or lose your hair or all the stupid things people worry about, but she just gets more beautiful. With each year she ages I notice something even more beautiful about her.

Just yesterday I found a new freckle under her ear that I never noticed before. Or the day before when I realized that she has these gold specks in her eyes when the light shines in them. The way her cheeks glow pink when she talks about singing. Every day with Rachel is a new day to discover something amazing.

She makes her way over to the bench under the tree beside the bridge and pats the spot beside her. I sit down and she hands me a small piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"I want you to read it. I wrote it the night after you kissed me in the auditorium our sophomore year."

"Oh. That can't be good." I remember how badly that kiss went because I couldn't keep my shit together for one kiss.

"Just read it." She says pushing the paper against my palm. I open the paper and smile immediate when I see the gold star at the bottom of the page next to her name.

'_Dear Finn,_

_Today was an interesting day. Today you kissed me for the first time. It was amazing and confusing and perfect. When our lips met, I swear I saw the rest of my life flash in front of my eyes. And in that moment, everything was perfect. _

_I know you ran away afterwards, and I'm still not sure why though I know having a girlfriend and kissing someone else must be pretty confusing. But I still wanted to write you this letter because I know one day we are going to sit down together and read it and realize that the moment we shared on that stage was the day our lives changed._

_I love you. I know that seems silly since you just kissed me today. But I can't help what I'm feeling. You're different. You aren't like the others. I can tell that you want to be something more than you are. I know that one day; you are going to make something of yourself. And you may not believe it now, but I can totally see you leaving Lima and being a big star._

_I would know I'm going to be a big star too. And I know that one day, even though it doesn't seem like it now, one day you and I are going to find ourselves reading this letter, as we sit in the shade holding hands and talking about how lucky we are to have one another. Because one day Finn Hudson, you are going to ask me to marry you. I know that seems really insane, but I can just feel it. _

_So I'll continue on this path, I'll let Quinn have her day and you for now, and I'll let Puckerman throw a slushie in my face every day for the rest of my time here, because I know that all of this is just leading me to you. Everything I face now is just preparing me for my future with you. Our future. I love you Finn Hudson._

_Love, Rachel Berry *'_

I feel the tears welling in my eyes as I close the letter and take her hand. "We are pretty lucky aren't we?" She nods her head and bites her bottom lip. "How did you have faith in me back then? How did you know?"

Her hand touches my face and I reach up and lace my fingers with hers. "Because Finn, we were special. We were always meant to be together."

I lower my face to meet hers and lightly graze her lips to mine. "I will always want to kiss you Rachel Berry." I feel her grin as our lips press firmly together and I wrap my arms around her. I am exactly where I was always meant to be.

To be continued…

Thank you for reading Brand New Start. I have loved this series. I hope you won't mind if I continue it with a new fic that will pick up in the middle of their senior year. I'm just not done with their story yet, but I am ready to close the book on this chapter of it.

Stacy


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